Flight 2804
by movieandbookgirl
Summary: Edward is a US Air Marshal working to protect our country from air attacks. Bella is a flight attendant on one of the flights he's monitoring. What happens when he can't get her off of his mind? Can he protect her and an entire flight from imminent danger
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **Hey everyone, this is my first fanfic and I'm extremely curious to see what you all think of my story and my writing. Comments are extremely appreciated!

A special thanks goes out to my beta Limona. This story is so much better because of you and your extraordinary editing skills. ;) Thank you! I also want to think my friend Nia for brainstorming a storyline with me. I'm anxious to see where this story goes!

Enough rambling! Here goes my first chapter.

**EPOV**

"Well what do you know, look Jas! It's Eddie!" Emmett bellowed while elbowing Jasper in the arm to get his attention. He waved me over towards where they were.

"I didn't think we'd be seeing you today, man." Jasper said as I made my way out further onto the backyard deck where he and Emmett were setting up the grill.

"Yeah, I figured I'd swing by for a few minutes before catching this flight to Atlanta."

Jasper gave me an amused look. _What? _I wondered.

"You want a beer Eddie?" Emmett asked while pulling himself one out of the cooler that was on the deck.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "Emmett, be serious. You know I can't drink before going to work. And for the last time will you _please_ stop calling me Eddie before I'm forced to use some of these combat skills I've learned on you."

Emmett laughed so hard he almost spit out some of the beer he just took a swig of. "You couldn't beat me with one of my hands tied behind my back!"

Emmett McCarty wasn't nicknamed 'the beast' for nothing. He was very intimidating to look at on a good day and downright terrifying if provoked. He stood 6'5" and had to be around 250 pounds of pure muscle. He loved the combative aspect of our job, and felt that no one could take him down. At 6'2" and very toned, I was no slouch myself. Plus I was much faster than Emmett. They call me lethal at work because I can quickly incapacitate someone if I have to.

"If I were you I'd quit laughing before I come prove just how easily and fast I can beat you." I tried to restrain my laughter.

I knew we would never go to blows. For as intimidating as Emmett can seem to strangers, I only see him as a big kid because he's so playful. His short, curly black hair, childish dimples and love of pulling pranks on people make him seem like my little brother. Even if he is bigger than I am.

"Name the time and place Eddie boy and we'll see who comes out the victor." He teased.

"Boys, settle down!" Alice Whitlock playfully scolded us while going to put her arms around Jasper's waist.

Alice is Jasper's wife and one of the most energetic people I know. I honestly don't know how Jasper seems unaffected by her never ending energy and hyperness. My theory is that his mellow vibe neutralizes her hyper vibe and vice versa.

Looking at Jasper and Alice standing together, staring lovingly into each other's eyes made me long to have a loving woman that I could call my own. They were a good looking pair, the two of them. Jasper stands at 6 feet with blond hair and blue eyes. He's slender but toned and has an air of confidence and assurance about him. Alice, on the other hand, is a little thing, barely 5 feet tall. She has short black hair that is cut in a trendy, spiky cut. She is always dressed to impress but also has that same air of confidence and assurance that Jasper has. It's obvious to anyone that they were made for each other.

"Yes Ma'am!" I playfully agreed. "But, only if this asshole stops being a prick," I stated while pointing my thumb toward Emmett.

"Hey! Nobody calls my husband an asshole or a prick but me." Rosalie laughed while stepping out onto the deck from inside of the house. "Isn't that right baby?" She smirked at Emmett.

"You've got that right Rosie." Emmett gave her a goofy grin.

Rosalie McCarty was what most would call attractive. She was tall at 5'10" and slender, with long, wavy blond hair. She could easily pass for a model. Rosalie uses her looks to her advantage on a regular basis to get what she wants. I will never understand her and Emmett's relationship, they are always going at it – either verbally or sexually – and they seem to thrive on it. I know they both love each other immensely though, so I am definitely happy for them. Even if I don't understand them.

"And now that the love fest has started, I think that's my cue to head on out to catch my flight," I said noticing that both couples were starting their love stares into each other's eyes.

This caused Alice to step out of Jasper's embrace and come over toward me. "Aww, Edward. We wish you could stay, it's such a beautiful day and we haven't had a chance to do this in far too long."

She was referring to the fact that there had been an onslaught of rainy days over the past couple of months here in Seattle, and usually we only grilled out the sunny days when the three of us can make it. But because it's been so long since we've seen the sun and because both Jasper and Emmett have the day off, they decided to go ahead without me. I can't say that I blame them; I just wish I was able to join in the festivities longer than a few minutes. But alas, duty calls.

"I know, hopefully the weather sticks around for longer than a day and we can do this again later this week when the three of us are off."

"Hopefully." Alice agreed. "And hopefully you'll bring a date already!"

"I'll bring someone when I meet someone worth bringing, Alice. " I laughed at her while tapping her nose with my index finger.

"Hmph!" Alice said while making her way back to Jasper. I knew she wanted me to find someone. She was kind of protective of me and wanted the best for me. They all did.

_Maybe one day… _I thought.

"I really should get going. I have places to go and people to protect. I'll catch you guys later. Have fun." I said as I waved to them..

A chorus of goodbyes sounded behind me as I headed to my car.

Right before I reached my car I heard someone running up behind me. I turned around to see Jasper jogging toward me.

"What's up Jasper?" I asked him.

"I was debating on whether or not to tell you, but you know how Alice gets these _feelings_ sometimes?"

I nodded, trying to understand where he was going with this.

"Well, she told me last night that she has a feeling something important is going to come from this trip. She can't say if it's got something to do with our work or if has something to do with you in particular, all she knows is that it's just going to be something significant."

Jasper once again got this look of amusement on his face as he continued,"Personally, I think you'll find the future Mrs. Masen on this trip." His smile quickly faded then and he leaned in a little closer, "But please be vigilant and careful just in case her feeling indicates something bad." Jasper said in a low voice.

"Thanks Jasper, I will be sure to be on the lookout for anything or anyone out of place or for some extraordinary woman." I smirked at him. "I appreciate the warning nevertheless."

"Any time Edward. Be safe up there."

I nodded and got into my car, starting it up and began heading south toward the airport. _Off to catch another flight._ At least this one is flying to Atlanta. This was a fun city and I have a favorite area of town that I like to visit when I'm staying overnight.

I couldn't help but think about what Jasper told me. Alice's feelings were usually more specific than what he told me and always right. I've learned to not bet against Alice and her feelings. I just hoped that this feeling didn't mean that there would be any issues that arise while I was in the air.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Flight 972 going to Atlanta will begin the boarding process by welcoming first class and sky medallion customers to board in approximately 5 minutes," the attendant at gate B5 announced.

This was the third flight this month that I needed to take in order to perform surveillance of any potential suspicious behavior. I work with homeland security as a US Air Marshal. My primary mission is to protect air passengers and crew from air attacks and terrorist acts. After all of the tragedy that our nation and my family personally endured from 9/11, I decided that I wanted to do my part in preventing anything like that from ever happening again. Since I joined the this task force 2 years ago after college, I have trained, learned skills, fighting techniques and abilities necessary to keep our aviation system safe and secure. In all honesty, I love what I do.

Most months I average approximately 15 to 20 flights. Some flights are randomly picked, but most are pre-identified based on information and potential threats that government intelligence picks up on, and we are placed on the flights strategically and as a safety precaution to diffuse any "situations" that may occur. We are meant to be inconspicuous and to look like everyday civilians. This way the air passengers don't get nervous about our presence on the flight. Only the pilots and crew are aware of our presence on board and know that we are armed.

For randomly picked flights like today's, only one marshal is scheduled to perform air surveillance. So I would be going solo today. Even though I rarely talked to my fellow marshals on flights, it was still comforting to know they were on board. Since joining, there have been two guys that I have come to look at as brothers more than the rest of my squad, Jasper and Emmett. I hope they are enjoying grilling out without me on this beautiful day. The bastards. Oh well, the faster we get going, the faster we'll be able to take off and arrive in Atlanta. I plan to go to my favorite bar tonight.

As if she could hear my thoughts, the gate attendant informed us that it was time to begin the boarding process.

As I stood up I picked up my duffel bag that I packed as an overnight bag and flexed my ankle to confirm that I felt the .9 mm strapped securely in place to it without obviously touching it. I made my way up to the forming line to board the plane and handed my ticket to the woman scanning the tickets to check passengers onto the flight.

"Have a pleasant flight Mr. Masen" she said as she flashed me a winning smile.

_She's cute. _I thought to myself as I sent her a quick polite smile. But, while on the job I never entertained all the flirtatious women that tried to grab my attention.

I will turn 25 in two months on June 20th and I have yet to settle down, much to my mother's disappointment. I don't even have a girlfriend, despite Alice's best efforts. I have dated a couple of women here and there, but nothing too serious. No one has ever made me want to pursue them any longer than a date or two. Maybe it's just not written in the stars for me.

I settled into my seat which was located in between the middle and the back of the plane. This allowed me to have a decent view of majority of the plane without being in the very back. As more passengers continued to board I took a look at each passenger. I took note of their facial expressions, if they had any nervous habits, their comfort level, or if they seemed too composed. It was my job to notice these things. I have always been pretty good at reading people, and I liked the opportunity to utilize those skills.

My gaze started to follow this guy who looked to be around 32 years of age. He was around six feet in height with long reddish-brown hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. He had a studded piercing in both his nose and eyebrow, and rows of studs and hoops piercing both of his earlobes. He wore a black leather wristband that contained a phrase that appeared to be written in Italian. He looked like he should be in somebody's rock band. Only, he was dressed in a very expensive looking grey business suit. It made him look out of place on several levels. The business suit indicated that he should be able to afford purchasing a first class seat. But his physical appearance indicated that his normal style of dress would be more Goth. This also didn't match up with his age. Usually the gothic look was popular with teens and musicians, not those 30 and up.

He took a seat 4 rows up from me to my right. I had a good line of vision of him. I didn't consider him a threat, but I liked to err on the side of caution. I would keep an eye on him to be safe.

I glanced up as I noticed someone making their way down the plane closing all of the overhead bins. What I saw when I looked up made my world stop momentarily. There before me was a beautiful brunette bombshell. She wore her flight attendant uniform which consisted of a dark blue, knee-length pencil skirt, a fitted white blouse and a gold scarf around her neck that was tied at the side of her neck. She had the most soulful brown eyes that held my undivided attention and pink full lips that currently smiled at a little girl who spoke animatedly about this being her first flight. The woman laughed a musical laugh and told the little girl, who looked to be about 6, that she would bring her a special treat once we were in the air to celebrate her very first flight.

She must have felt my eyes on her because she glanced up and held my gaze for a moment. I could swear I saw the faintest hint of a blush covering her delicate pale skin. I gave her a lopsided smile. She wrapped up her conversation with the little girl and continued to make her way down the aisle toward me while closing the remaining overhead bins. When she stood right ahead of me to close the bin above my seat, she lifted her arms causing the shirt to mold itself tightly against her skin. I could see the faintest hint of what looked to be a dark blue lacey bra underneath her white blouse; her breast forming the perfect shape. All too soon, her arms were back to her sides and the view obstructed.

_Shit. _I glanced up to her face and saw her gaze on me. I was embarrassed to think that she might have noticed my inappropriate gaze on her body.

"Sir, I'll have to request that you buckle your seat belt since we will be taking off shortly." Her voice was light and I could tell she was amused. She had no idea that she was doing to me what no other woman had yet accomplished. She was making me speechless.

She stood there waiting for me to comply with her request while I just stared at her.

Her cheeks started to flush with a pink blush and her eyes started to shift uncomfortably under my intense gaze.

_Snap out of it! _ I internally yelled at myself.

"Sorry about that." I smiled at her as I began to buckle and adjust my belt.

She gave me a beautiful smile and I felt my heartbeat pick up. Then she leaned in so that her face was merely inches from own.

_What is she doing?! Is she about to kiss me? Please be about to kiss me! _My thoughts began going haywire.

Much to my chagrin she continued past the kissing zone and stopped when her cheek was nearly touching mine.

This angelic creature began to whisper into my ear. "I hope we have a safe flight."

Slowly pulling back from her current position she winked at me and turned to continue to the back of the jet to close the remaining overhead bins.

_What? Oh, of course. Since she is a crew member she knows that I am a US Air Marshal. Normally they do not acknowledge us for obvious safety reasons. I suppose that's why she whispered. Wow. This is going to be an interesting flight. Hopefully one where I can just admire the view that is this woman. Perhaps I can try to wait for her after the flight in order to get to know her better…_

Bringing the reason I was on this plane in the first place back into my mind, I tried to direct my thoughts to monitoring the activity on the plane and away from the brunette goddess in the back.

Ding. The flight intercom sounded and none other than her voice came over the speakers to address the passengers.

"Good afternoon and welcome aboard flight 972 from Seattle to Atlanta. We are happy to have you on board. The flight time to Atlanta will be approximately 4 hours and 27 minutes. Please direct your attention to the one of the monitors located throughout this 767 for a safety presentation. Should you need anything at all, please do not hesitate to ask one of your flight attendants. My name is Bella, Cindy is working with me in the coach cabin and Jessica is in the first class cabin. We hope you enjoy your flight." Ding.

_Bella. What a fitting name. Oh I plan to enjoy this flight alright. _

AN: Well that's all folks. Comments?


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **Thank you all so much for your reviews! They really inspired me to keep going with this story. I hope you enjoy chapter 2! As a heads up, I wanted to give you BPOV on their first meeting, so I rewrote the last chapter from Bella's perspective. From here on out the story will progress either in Edward or Bella's POV. I will not write each chapter in both POVs. This should help the story move along faster.

Once again, thank you to my amazing beta Limona. She continues to work her magic on my story, thank you!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, I'm only enjoying borrowing its characters.

**BPOV**

Today is such a gorgeous day. I would love nothing more than to spend the day outside; maybe go to the park and read one of my favorite novels. It's so rare that we have such a beautiful day in Seattle, especially lately, that I am very tempted to take a personal day to bask in the sunlight. But, it would be horrible for me to call in last minute. The airline would probably have to delay the flight, and heaven knows I would not want to cause that. All of the airlines these days are delayed so regularly that many passengers could arrive at their destination faster by driving. Unfortunately, once they realize this, they get angry and take it out on us flight attendants. Like we were the reason the flight was delayed! I swear, some of them really think that we flight attendants sit around rearranging flights and pissing off customers for kicks and giggles. I will never understand it.

But when the flights are going smoothly, I love my job. I've learned to come out of my shell since becoming a flight attendant. The flights go by faster and are more enjoyable when chatting with strangers about an assortment of diverse topics. My favorite passengers are those who board with new novels that I haven't had an opportunity to read yet or my favorite novels; we can have a quick discussion about them.

_What time is it? _I looked at my watch and noticed that it was 12:50 pm. _Damn!_

I needed to hurry up and pack my carry-on luggage for my overnight stay in Atlanta, GA. I had to fly from Seattle to Atlanta, then from Atlanta to Orlando, and back up to Atlanta again. It will be a long day, but I am looking forward to staying overnight in Atlanta. It is one of my favorite cities to layover in within the states. There are just so many trendy areas to go visit and hang out. I love this one particular area called Atlantic Station. There are tons of restaurants, bars, and activities all grouped together for a few blocks and this amazing fountain / park in the center of it all. I'm going there tonight with the rest of the crew.

As I went through my mental checklist to ensure that I packed everything I would need, I heard my cell phone ringing in the next room. As I started to run over to the living room to catch the call before my voicemail picked up, I stubbed my toe against the coffee table in true Bella fashion.

_Ouch! _I inwardly cursed the coffee table and my clumsy ways as I picked the phone up off the table and hopped on one foot.

"Hello?" I said somewhat breathlessly as I pushed the send button on my cell phone.

"Bella? Why are you out of breath? Do you have a guy over there that you've been hiding?" Angela, my best friend, teased me.

"Come on Ange, if I was hiding a guy over here and doing everything your nasty little mind is thinking of, do you really think I would have answered the phone?" I couldn't help but laugh at my friend.

"Ok, well if you aren't hiding a secret boyfriend, what are you doing that has you all out of breath?"

"I'm hopping on one foot because I stubbed my toe trying to get to the phone before YOU hung up! Had I known it was you, I would have just let it go to voice mail." I knew she could hear the smile in my voice.

"Yeah, yeah. You know you love me."

"Of course I do! So what's up Ange?" I was curious about why she was calling when she knew I had to be at the airport in less than an hour.

"I just called to see if you knew whether or not our favorite pilot is flying as a part of your crew today or not?"

I knew who she was talking about. "Yes, in fact he is." I smiled thinking about my other best friend Jacob.

Jacob, Angela and I met when we were in high school. We've always been a trio and I absolutely love both of them to pieces. Jacob always had a passion for flying, and when he was 18 he started taking aviation lessons and working towards earning his license. I was so proud of him when he became a pilot for Sky Jet Air Lines. At that time, I was still uncertain about what I wanted to do with my life. A degree in literature did not seem like it would take me too many places, so I decided to try my hand at becoming a flight attendant at Sky Jet. Sometimes I got lucky and Jacob and I would be on the same flight together. Today was one of those days.

"Do you want me to tell him hi for you?" I asked her.

"No, I want you to give him a kiss for me. Right on the lips!" Angela, for some reason, has been trying to hook me and Jacob up for the past two years. Although I can admit that he is extremely attractive, and I often look at him as my personal sun because he can always cheer me up, I just don't feel like we were meant to be. I'm fairly certain he feels the same way about me.

"Does Ben know that you want to kiss Jacob?" I asked in mock seriousness.

"Ben knows he's the only one for me! Plus I asked for you, Isabella Marie Swan, to kiss Jacob."

"Ange, when are you going to give it a rest? You know Jacob and I are only friends, just like the both of you are only friends."

"You can't blame a girl for trying to match up two of her favorite people, can you?"

"When said girl is you, I suppose not." I replied. "But I really have to go. I have got to walk out this door within the next 5 minutes or I will be late and the angry passengers will pelt me with their airport food for causing their flight to be delayed."

We both laughed at that mental image.

"Ok, I will let you go. Are we still on for tomorrow night?" Tomorrow was Friday. Every Friday I was in town, Angela and I would go to our favorite Italian restaurant, _canzone dell' Italia_, and order our favorite pasta and discuss the week's events over a glass of our favorite merlot. If Ben or Jacob were available, they would sometimes join us. But in general it was just us girls.

"Of course. I'll see you tomorrow. Love you!" I hurriedly responded before ending the call to rush out the door.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I just finished going through the security line, and as I bent over to slip my shoes back on my feet, I heard a low chuckle come from behind me. I whirled around ready to give a piece of my mind to whoever thought the sight of me bent over was so funny, only to see Jake leaning against the wall with a grin on his face.

I rolled my eyes. "You are lucky we're friends Captain, otherwise I would have had to 'accidentally' drop my luggage on your foot."

"Come on small stuff, we have a plane to fly." Jake grinned at me. I couldn't help myself, I grinned back. His smiles are contagious.

"I'm not small. I can't help it if you're a giant. It's a wonder you can even fit in the cockpit." I joked back.

He chuckled. We started rolling our luggage toward gate B5. We were catching up on what had been going on the past couple of days as we approached the gate attendant.

"Hello Captain Black." She said in a sultry tone. I seriously had to resist rolling my eyes. Jake on the other hand gave the woman an appraising look and replied hello. Upon closer inspection, she was quite pretty. She had straight brunette hair cut into a shoulder length bob, with a couple of reddish tint highlights. She had almond shaped blue eyes and a pretty smile. She was just a little too straight forward in flirting with Jacob – and men in general I would guess – for my taste.

"We have a crew aboard the craft now cleaning up from the previous flight. You are more than welcome to board whenever you would like, but you might want to wait out here for a moment until they are finished. I can keep you company."

Okay, now I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"Captain, I will be on board helping to prep for the next flight. I will see you on board." I told Jake. Although we were best friends, there was no need to publicize that to everyone. So I generally referred to him as 'Captain' or 'Captain Black' when others were around.

I started to turn to enter the gateway to enter the jet, when Jake surprised me and said he needed to set up the cockpit and would be going with me.

The gate attendant looked disappointed. "Well Captain, I hope you have a good flight. I am planning to start the boarding process in about 20 minutes."

"Thank you Sarah, I plan to have a very smooth flight." Jake smiled and winked at her before turning to enter the gateway with me.

I gave him a bemused look. "Sarah?" I whispered questioningly.

Jake gave me a sheepish look, "What? She was cute. I looked at her name badge."

Laughing, I asked him why he didn't just stay and talk to her for a bit.

"For starters, I have a plane to fly. Also, she's not my type." He stated so matter-of-factly.

"Jake, I have known you for 10 years and I still don't know what your type is." I asked exasperatedly.

"Bella, it's not my fault you're extremely unobservant!"

"Whatever, Jake. I'll believe you have a type the day you bring home a girlfriend that lasts longer than four months." I teased.

"Sure, sure." He said before giving me a hug. "Be safe out there. Try not to spill anything on one of our passengers this time."

I gave him the evil eye, "I can't help but spill a drink if someone bumps into me!"

I knew he was just joking with me, so we both laughed before heading our separate directions.

Once I made it back to the coach seating area, I saw Cindy stocking the cooler with the new bags of ice for the cabin refreshments.

"Hey Cindy! Long time, no see. How have you been?" I asked her, genuinely happy to have her in coach with me instead of Jessica Stanley.

"Bella! Three months is far too long." She smiled. "I have been good. Just trying to keep up with little Andrew. He is such a handful these days."

"How old is he now? Two?"

"Yes, the terrible twos! Whoever came up with that phrase was telling the truth." She shook her head as if thinking about all the terrible things her son had been up to.

I shuddered, thinking up all the possibilities. "Well, they can't stay two forever."

"Very true!"

"So do you need any help back here? I think we have about 10 minutes before the passengers begin to board."

"Yes, can you go rewind the safety video and make sure all of the overhead lighting is turned off?"

"No problem." We only had a few minutes before the plane would begin to fill up, so I left her to go check the overhead lights.

Shortly after I finished up, passengers began to board. I stepped out of the way to allow passengers to pass in the narrow aisles. Since I was closer to the front of the plane, I went towards the cockpit. I saw Jessica hanging up one of the first class passenger's coat.

"Hey Bella, have you heard?"

This is why I was wary of Jessica. She constantly gossiped. I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear whatever 'it' was. I looked at her a little apprehensively.

"No, I haven't heard anything." I said, trying to keep it short.

She leaned in close to me as if about to tell me a secret. I was about to back away and tell her that I really didn't want to know what she planned to tell me when I saw the light blinking on the aircraft phone indicating someone from the cockpit needed to speak with one of us flight attendants.

"Oh! Look, a call is coming in." I rushed to pick up the phone to avoid the gossip Jessica was about to unload on me.

"Yes?" I answered the phone.

"Bella?" It was first assistant Mike Newton. Jacob's co-pilot.

"Yes Mike, it's Bella. Do you need something before we take off?" I asked him.

"No, Jake asked me to make sure you all were aware that there is an armed US Air Marshal on board this flight."

"Are we expecting a potential problem to arise?"I asked a bit concerned. I knew some flights were randomly picked, but I also knew they mostly flew flights that government intelligence picked up on as potential threats for terrorist attacks.

"I'm not one hundred percent sure, but I believe this was a randomly assigned flight and he is on only as a precaution."

This made me feel more at ease. "Thank you Mike, I will be sure to inform the others." I assured him.

"Thanks. By the way, his seat assignment is 38 C. Just as an FYI."

"Got it. Thanks again, Mike."

"No problem, Bella."

I hung up the phone and made my way to Jessica. I better do this fast and get out of here.

"Hey Jessica, Mike just informed me that we have extra protection on board today." I said lowly so none of the first class passengers would be able to hear.

"I know, that's what I was planning to tell you before you bolted for the phone," she said, a little irritation in her voice. I presume the irritation was from her not being able to tell me first. "I peeked in coach and to look at him. He's hot!"

Just as I was beginning to feel bad for misjudging her, she goes and starts to gossip on his looks. I gave her a small smile and began to make my way back toward coach.

Most of the passengers were on board and seated, so I began to go down the aisle closing the overhead bin compartments storing carry-on luggage.

I got about halfway back when I saw this adorable little girl bouncing next to her mother. She had to be around the age of 5 or 6, with long black hair and a big smile on her face, showcasing her two front missing teeth.

"Well hello sweetheart, what's your name?" I asked her.

"Samantha! And this is my _very_ first flight!" She replied rather animatedly, putting an extra emphasis on the word 'first'.

"It is? Well that is just so exciting!" I spoke to her just as animatedly.

I briefly glanced away from Samantha when I noticed the most captivating pair of green eyes staring right at me. As if his eyes weren't spectacular in themselves, the face of the man accompanying them was even more marvelous. He has the most chiseled jaw line, flawless pale skin – that actually reminded me of my complexion – sexy disheveled auburn colored hair, and an absolutely beautiful mouth that wore a slightly lopsided grin.

_My goodness, this man is absolutely beautiful. And, I don't go around calling many men beautiful!_

I began to feel a little heat rise to my face at the realization that I was staring at him longer than was necessary or appropriate.

Turning my attention back to the little girl in front of me, I said, "Well Samantha, to celebrate the fact that this is your first ever flight, I promise to bring you an extra special drink later. OK?"

"Okay!" She happily accepted my offer.

I couldn't help but smile at her, she really was adorable. I checked her seatbelt to make sure he was tightly strapped in the seat before getting back to my original tasks of closing the overhead bins.

As I slowly made my way closer to the beautiful man, I could feel his eyes on me. I tried to keep my eyes trained on the bins I was closing, but I had a hard time concentrating.

_Stay calm, keep walking._ I encouraged myself as I came up to the bin above his seat. 38 C.

_Oh… so this is our Air Marshal. He can protect me any day of the week! _I then automatically scolded myself for having such thoughts. I was no better than Jessica!

As I looked down at him, I saw him eyeing my chest. _Is_ _he checking _me_ out?_ I should have been upset, I know, but I was thrilled that this Adonis of a man seemingly found me, Bella, attractive. It was amusing, really.

He looked up with a somewhat shocked expression on his face. _What? Did I accidentally touch him or something? Why is he so surprised?_

His expression brought me back to reality and I remembered that this was a crowded plane and that I had a job to do. "Sir, I'll have to request that you buckle your seat belt since we will be taking off shortly."

But he just sat there; his eyes probing deeply into mine. It felt he was trying to see into my soul.

I felt my face get hot once again, and I nervously looked around to see if anyone else noticed this wordless exchange between me and this beautiful protector. Amazingly, no one seemed to be looking at us. I turned my attention back to him as he finally spoke.

I really didn't think that he could become any more attractive to me, but then his voice washed over me. It was perfect; a combination of velvety smoothness, huskiness, and distinction. I didn't even know a man _could_ sound like that.

The smile that spread across my lips was completely involuntary. _I am in serious trouble!_

Before I even knew what took over me, I found myself leaning in towards him. He went stock still. I leaned in closer to whisper into his ear, "I hope we have a safe flight."

Damn it, he even smells completely delectable! If I didn't get away from him now I might be fired for inappropriate behavior. Because, at this moment all I wanted to do was jump him to find out if he tasted nearly as good as he looked, smelled and sounded.

_I bet he does. _I thought a little disgruntled. _What I would give to have him be interested in me. With my luck he's probably engaged to some gorgeous woman somewhere. _

I winked at him as I stood back up.

_Did I just do that?! _I turned to make my way swiftly to the back of the plane before I could do anything else embarrassing. I really didn't know what was going on with me and why I could not seem to act rationally when near him.

I finally made it back to where Cindy was standing. She was giving me a very curious look, with one of her eyebrows raised.

"Umm, Bella? What was _that_ about?"

I gave her a partly sheepish and partly guilty look. I was completely ashamed of myself.

"I have absolutely no idea. I have never acted like that before. Every part of me seemed to be drawn to him. It was uncalled for and I will not let it happen again." I firmly stated.

Much to my surprise she only laughed at me. _Huh?_

"Girl, I was drawn to that man, and all I saw was the back of his head!" She continued to laugh at me. "I don't care that you flirted with him. Hell, if I weren't married, I would have too. I'm just surprised that you did. I didn't think you had it in you, honey!"

Now it was my turn to look at her curiously. "So, you don't think that I was out of line?"

"A little wink never hurt anyone, Bella." She smiled encouragingly at me.

I smiled back weakly. "I'm going to go ahead and take the announcements for this flight. You'll take the Orlando flight?"

"Sure thing, honey."

I picked up the phone and pressed the intercom button.

"Good afternoon and welcome aboard flight 972 from Seattle to Atlanta. We are happy to have you on board. The flight time to Atlanta will be approximately 4 hours and 27 minutes. Please direct your attention to the one of the monitors located throughout this 767 for a safety presentation. Should you need anything at all, please do not hesitate to ask one of your flight attendants. My name is Bella, Cindy is working with me in the coach cabin and Jessica is in the first class cabin. We hope you enjoy your flight."

As I returned the phone to its original location, I couldn't help but think about the man in 38 C. I would have to try to keep my interactions with him to a minimum. I doubted that he could seriously be interested in someone like me. If he was, he probably only wanted one thing, like so many other men.

_Yes, I will keep my distance from him during this flight. Besides, he has a job to do like I do. We both need to be focused on our tasks without distractions. _

Sighing, I had one last thought. _This should be a very interesting flight…_

**AN: **I really appreciate reviews and I take anon. reviews too, so please let me know what you think of the story so far. Constructive criticisms are welcomed. 


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** First off, I have to apologize to all of you fantastic readers for my long delay in posting this chapter! I have been swamped with traveling for work, trying to put my house on the market in this crazy housing market to move next month and going to the doctor's for my crazy back. Whew! It's just been crazy. So sorry for the delay.

Second, in the midst of all the craziness I haven't had a chance to respond back to a couple of you who have reviewed my story, so THANK YOU!! You all are awesome and inspire me to keep writing this fic. I appreciate your reviews more than you know. 

Lastly, I have received a couple of questions asking if this is the flight that this fic is named for. It is not the fateful flight 2804. That flight will take place a little later in this fic. This first flight is leading up to that flight.

Thanks again to Limona for her stellar Beta skills! Happy birthday!

Disclaimer: I do not own twilight. sighs

**EPOV**

Take off wasn't bad at all, I've been through a lot worse. I was actually glad this flight wasn't too rough; my mind was tumultuous enough as it was. We had been steadily climbing to 10,000 ft for the past 10 minutes when the seatbelt sign went off. Bella's voice soon after filled the aircraft informing us that the captain had turned off the fasten seatbelt sign indicating that we were free to move about the cabin as necessary. What she didn't know was that I was very tempted to move to the back of the cabin and kiss her senseless.

The young man in the seat next to me had his eyes closed, an iPod in his lap, and ear buds in his ears. I noted his inattention to his surroundings; at least if I was able to speak to Bella, we would have some semblance of privacy. Well, as much privacy as you could have on a plane full of people.

My mind drifted while I tried to think of ways to get her attention._ I could try to talk with her while she is pouring out drinks. Maybe, I could write my name and number down on a napkin and give it back to her when she comes back around to take trash. But then she might not see it and throw it away. What if I pressed the call button to have her check on me, but then what? I would tell her I just wanted to talk? The other flight attendant might come for that matter._

This was ridiculous. I was putting way more thought into this than was needed.

I should be able to talk with her at some point in this flight and if not, I would make it a point to talk with her after we landed. All of this back in forth I was doing was not keeping me focused on the reason I was actually on board in the first place.

I looked around the cabin for suspicious activity. My eyes wandered a few rows ahead to that guy I spotted earlier. He was staring at the back of the seat in front of him. I looked at him for a few minutes. He didn't move an inch and barely blinked. This guy was solidly on my highly suspicious list.

I pulled out my cell phone and powered it to in-flight mode, making sure that my built in camera was ready. I planned to take a picture of him when I was able to get a good view of him for precautionary reasons. I would check this guy out later by uploading the photo to our database to see if he matched anyone in our system, as well as run his name through our database. Unfortunately, I didn't have a good view of him right now.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Cindy and I will be making our way through the cabin shortly to offer you a complimentary selection of snacks and beverages."

As Bella's voice listed the various types of snacks and drinks offered, I noticed that my heart rate picked up a notch. What was it about this woman that affected me like none before her ever had?

As I was trying to figure out the answer to that question I could hear Bella and the other flight attendant behind me asking passengers to watch their elbows and feet. They would be walking past me at any moment with the drink cart. Bella was the first to pass me; she was walking with her back to the front of the plane helping to pull the cart, while Cindy was behind the cart pushing it up the aisle.

When Bella was a couple of rows in front of me she looked up and caught my gaze. She shyly smiled and quickly looked away before I could return the smile.

They made it to the front of cabin, and I sighed in frustration at the fact that I would have to wait until they made it back to my row for even the possibility of talking to her. She was working for goodness sake. After the flight, if she did not have another flight immediately, perhaps we could grab some coffee at one of the airport cafés.

I refocused back on doing my job, and glanced at the guy a few rows up. He had averted his stare from the back of the headrest in front of him to something at the front of the cabin. I followed his line of sight, and what I saw made my blood start to boil. He was staring at Bella. MY Bella.

_My Bella? Hmm. _I instantly scolded myself. For as much as I liked the thought of her being my Bella, I knew that the fact that this potential nut job was interested in her was nothing but trouble.

She seemed oblivious to his attention, and to my attention, for that matter.

_Why would she care we were looking at her? She was striking; she must be used to attention from a lot of the male passengers. _I didn't enjoy the thought of other men looking at her, but I would prefer every other man in this plane look at her if only this one suspicious man wouldn't.

As he continued to unabashedly stare at Bella, I grew more and more livid. The only break I caught was that while Bella and Cindy were servicing that section, Cindy was the one who took his drink and snack order and prepared it for him. He did not look pleased about this and when he looked up at Cindy, he gave me the perfect opportunity to raise my phone and take his picture. Bella still seemed too busy to notice his pointed gaze.

It seemed I caught a second break as well; Bella was up to serve my section. I couldn't help but rejoice over this and a wave of happiness spread throughout my body. Once she turned to take my drink and snack request I smiled at her, which she returned with a breathtaking smile.

"And what can I get for you sir?" Her lips wore a slightly seductive grin.

_This woman is going to be the death of me! Two can play this game._

With my own seductive look, I requested pretzels and a coke. She looked momentarily dazed before shaking her head slightly and filling a plastic cup with ice and Coke.

As she was passing me the small pack of pretzels and my cup, our hands met for a moment. Her skin was so warm and so soft. As she removed her hand, I instantly felt a sense of loss.

"Thank you, Bella."

She gave me the sweetest smile I have ever seen on a woman as she replied, "You're welcome…"

"Edward. Edward Masen."

"Edward." She looked at me with a serene expression and grinned. "Very fitting. I hope you enjoy your snack, and please let me know if you would like a refill."

"I will be sure to do that."

She took a peek at the guy next to me to find that he had his eyes closed, and as she turned to take care of the next passenger, she quickly looked at me and seemed to have let out a very small sigh.

_Could she be attracted to me as well, and not quite ready to stop our little exchange? _I sincerely hoped so.

I looked back at the suspicious man in front of me and he was back to staring at the seat ahead. At least he seemed to have lost interest in my Bella. For that I was grateful. However, he still put me on alert and I was anxious for this flight to be over for two reasons. The first being we would have made it safely to the ground and he would be on his way, giving me a chance to look into him. The second, I would finally be able to approach Bella to see if she might allow me to get to know her better.

I glanced at my watch. We had a little over 2 hours left. I certainly hoped this flight would hurry up.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Two and a half hours later we were safely landed. I hadn't had another opportunity to really speak with Bella. But, I had expected as much. She was working.

I had already gotten a copy of the passenger roster from the gate agent when I first got off the plane, and I was now leaning up against the wall waiting for her to walk out.

It was ten minutes before I saw her, and when I did, my heart plummeted to my feet. She did not walk out with any of the other flight attendants as I expected. She walked out beside the flight's captain, her arm linked in his. She had a slight blush to her cheeks and was laughing at something he must have just said to her. She playfully swatted at his arm. It was clear they knew each other well. I couldn't determine if they were friends or more. As I was debating whether or not to approach them, I overheard part of their conversation.

"Come on Bells, let's go grab a greasy burger and a shake before catching this flight to Orlando, my treat. I think we only have 20 minutes. Let's hurry before we're late."

"Jake! You always treat. Let me get it for a change," Bella protested.

"A) I make more than you. B) it's not often my favorite girl and I are together on the same crew and C) I said I'm paying so I'm paying."

They walked in the opposite direction from where I was standing and Bella hadn't noticed me. At this point I was glad she didn't.

As I dejectedly watched Bella and seemingly her boyfriend walk down the concourse with his arm now around her shoulders, I bent down to lift my duffle bag off the ground and exited the airport.

That may just have been the biggest letdown of my dating life. She was beyond beautiful, of course she would be with someone. I just wished that someone were me. It was just my luck that I finally had that connection with someone and I couldn't do anything about it.

I picked up my rental car and went to check into my hotel so that I could work out at its exercise facility before going out tonight. Hopefully running a few miles and pressing a few weights would help to take my mind off of _her._

I got all checked in, put on my workout gear, grabbed my iPod and headed downstairs to start out running on the treadmill. This was a pretty small room, so there were only three treadmills available. One was occupied by a woman about my age, maybe a little younger. Her hair was straight, thin, blond and went a little below her shoulders. She must have been running for a while because it unattractively clung to her forehead. She wore skin tight exercise shorts and a sports bra that left very little to the imagination.

She smiled at me. I could tell it was meant to be seductively, but it didn't quite turn out that way. Out of politeness I curtly smiled back. I was beginning to rethink my workout plan and thought it might be better to start off with the weights, but then decided it would be better to work out next to her so that she wouldn't be in my line of sight. Hopefully putting in my ear buds would dissuade her from trying to strike up conversation with me.

I got on the furthest treadmill from her, leaving one in between us and punched in my settings. I pressed the start button once I had my music going. I tried to let the music pulse through me while I ran, helping to direct my jogging pace. I all but forgot the girl next to me, but my thoughts continued to stray back to the flight attendant I knew as Bella.

Before I was even able to make it to the two mile mark, I felt a tap on my arm. I looked over startled to see that the blond girl had switched treadmills and was now on the center one. She again smiled and motioned for me to take out one of my ear buds so that she could talk to me.

_What is this girl's problem? _

Highly annoyed, I paused my music and pulled out one of my ear buds, all the while trying to maintain my jogging strides. I looked at her expectantly.

"Hi. I'm Lauren," she said once again trying to be seductive and falling short of it. "Are you from around here?"

"No. This is a hotel. That would be an indication that I am not from 'around here'." I tried to sound harsh so that she could get the clue and leave me alone.

"Oh cool! Me neither. We should totally go out and sightsee together."

_Was she serious? _

"I'm only here overnight and I have plans tonight, so I will have to decline." I turned away from her and started my music back to give her the clue that I didn't want to talk anymore. I guess she got the hint because she left shortly thereafter.

_Thank you! I'd lock myself in my room tonight if I had to deal with her._

I finished two more miles before heading over to the weights and spent thirty minutes doing various repetitions.

I took a shower once I got back to the room and noticed the time. It was almost 7:00. I leisurely got ready and walked out of the hotel. My first mission was to find something to eat for dinner. The great thing about my hotel's location was that it was downtown among a wealth of restaurants. I settled for a local place called The Varsity. I had a couple of chili dogs and fries. I was planning to drink tonight and I knew that would be good food to eat for absorbing some of the alcohol that would be in my system later on.

With dinner out of the way, I walked back to the hotel to pick up my rental car and make it over to my favorite bar – Fox Sports Grill. It was located in this popular hangout part of the city called Atlantic Station. I loved their drinks and I loved the atmosphere, but usually opted to eat something else before getting there unless I was hanging out with one of my force buddies.

I walked in around 9:00 and it was already getting packed in there. Quite a few people were at the bar watching the Braves and Mariners game that was on, some were having dinner at the normal dining area and some were in the back with the billiards table shooting pool. Televisions were hanging everywhere throughout the place. Directly behind the bar was a huge screen, that was actually comprised of about 20 – 30 smaller screens. I headed to the bar to get my first beer and check out the game.

After about half an hour of watching the game and another beer later, I wanted to people watch. After all, it's something I did very well. I usually liked to guess which couples were on their first date, which couples had been together for a while, who the frat boys were, who was trying to fit in - acting like they love sports, and who really did love the sports.

I happened to glance towards the door.

_You have GOT to be shitting me!_

Bella had just come through the door with about four other people and she looked absolutely divine! Her hair held a lot of loose curls that cascaded down her back. She no longer wore her uniform, but rather a fitted purple halter dress with a v-neck cut in the front that did not dip too low. Classy, yet casual. Under the dress she had black leggings and black heels that accentuated her legs. She absolutely was a sight to behold.

This time instead of standing right next to the flight's captain she had earlier called Jake, she was standing next to and chatting with Cindy. Jake was behind them chatting with an average looking guy with short blond hair. A medium-height woman with long, straight, dirty-blond hair was standing near them, her eyes trained on the blond guy.

I couldn't tear my eyes away from Bella. When she laughed her nose crinkled a bit, which only made her even more adorable. They started to walk toward the bar when she finally looked my way. She looked stunned for a moment before she got the most radiant smile on her face.

Pleased that she seemed happy to see me, I reciprocated her current expression and stood up, motioning her to come join me.

_Maybe she isn't with him after all. She couldn't possibly be that happy to see me if she were with someone else, could she?_

She nodded, but turned to look at the man she had been with earlier and whispered in his ear. He glanced over my way and looked me up and down, sizing me up, before looking back to her and nodding his head. She then turned to Cindy and winked at her before coming to occupy the seat next to mine.

_That was different…_

"Hello, Edward. Fancy seeing you here." She was too tempting for her own good.

"Bella, you have no idea how much you have just made my night. I didn't think I would be seeing you again."

"You wanted to see more of me?"

She didn't realize the double meaning of her words, so I clarified for her, "Yes. I would both love to see you more and to see more of you." My eyes again traveled over her dress and when I looked up I could see that she was blushing a deep shade of crimson.

"I'm sorry, that was very forward of me and inappropriate. Please forgive me. You just affect me in ways I'm not accustomed to." I was ashamed of my sexual innuendo and needed to learn when to put a muzzle on.

"No, it's alright. I know what you mean," she replied back with a seductive grin. "I just have a hard time believing that I could possibly affect you that way."

"You must need glasses when you look in the mirror, because Bella, you are stunning. Especially in this dress."

Again, she began to blush.

"Do you mind if I ask you a question?" She shook her head, indicating that it was ok for me to ask. "Who is that guy that you were speaking to before coming over here?"

As if she needed confirmation as to who I was talking about, she looked over to Jake, who was keeping an eye on us while chatting with Bella's friends. "Who? Jake? He's my best friend."

"Only your best friend? I thought it may have been more serious than that, especially with the way he keeps looking over here to watch over you."

Laughing, she said, "Yes, I'm sure. He's watching because he's protective and doesn't want me to get hurt."

I sighed in relief. I at least knew that they weren't together. "Are you seeing anyone?"

"No. Edward, are you seeing anyone?"

"No. I am free." I looked in her eyes as I spoke to make sure she believed me. "I hope that you might be interested in changing my relationship status one day soon though."

_What was with me being so forward? I had no clue. All I knew was that I wanted Bella to be mine. I was already hers if she wanted me._

She leaned forward and touched my knee. "Edward, you have no idea how interested I am in changing your status."

I couldn't help but look at her plump pink lips. All I wanted to do at this moment was to kiss her. I leaned in a little toward her, keeping my eyes focused on her lips when she backed up a little. I was immediately embarrassed and began to kick myself for the ridiculously long time it's been since I've gone to bed with anyone. Maybe I wouldn't have been as affected by her as I was now. Bella didn't realize that everything about her, especially her eyes and lips drew me in like a siren.

Trying to change the charge of energy between us, I cleared my throat before asking a question.

"Bella, would you like to take a walk with me? There is this lovely park a couple of blocks over. It's beautiful at night; the lights around the park give it a great ambiance." I wanted her to feel safe.

"I would love to, let me just tell my friends so that they won't worry. I will be right back."

I watched her walk over to her group of her friends. Everyone in the group soon looked over at me. _Awkward._ And Jake got up to escort Bella back over to me.

"Hi, I'm Jacob Black. Who might you be?" Jacob held his hand out to me.

I shook it and replied back, "I'm Edward Masen. I was the Air Marshal on your flight from Seattle to Atlanta this afternoon." I threw that in for good measure hoping that he would feel more at ease with leaving her in my care.

Suddenly, his grip tightened on my hand and I struggled to keep a calm expression on my face, as if his death grip on my hand didn't hurt at all. "Edward, this here is my best friend and if you fuck around and hurt her in any way, you will have me to personally answer to, and trust me you don't want that."

"Jake! That wa-," Bella started.

I cut her off before she could finish that sentence, because I wanted both of them to hear me clearly, "Jacob, I would never do anything to intentionally hurt Bella. I know we've only just met, but you can trust me. In fact, let me give you my contact information to reassure you."

He gave me a searching look before releasing my hand and seemed appeased. I gave him my number and punched it into his cell, calling me to make sure I had his information, just in case I needed to reach him for any reason.

He hugged Bella bye and told her to call him later. She agreed and was ready to leave.

She looked over to me once we were out of the sports bar. "You know that was unnecessary. I trust you, and that should be enough."

"I'm glad you trust me, but I want to get in good with you. In order to do that those closest to you have to trust me too."

She chewed on her bottom lip and looked contemplative; all of a sudden she looked into my eyes. "I can't believe you are real. I must be dreaming," she said.

"My thoughts exactly."

I couldn't be sure, but it sounded like she muttered "Too perfect" under her breath. I almost laughed, if she only knew how many people thought the exact opposite about me. To most, I was a little standoff-ish. I've also been told on more than one occasion that I was arrogant and selfish, but that was mostly from women who upset that I wasn't interested in them. But Bella was a different story, I was drawn to her like two opposite ends of a magnet. I needed to get to know her, be with her.

As we were walking toward the park, I offered her my arm. She took it without hesitation.

"So Bella, tell me about yourself."

"Okay, but I warn you, it's a rather uneventful story." _I doubt that; I want to know anything and everything about her._

She began, "My full name is Isabella Marie Swan."

I covered her hand with mine and whispered in her ear, "Mmm, now _that_ is a very fitting name." It came out huskier than I intended.

A slight shiver ran down her back at my lips close proximity to her ear.

Bella continued, "I was born in a small town called Forks in Washington. My parents grew up there and were high school sweethearts. Unfortunately, they didn't stay that way and were divorced when I was little. I moved to Phoenix, Arizona, with my mom at the age of 3. She remarried when I was 15 and I decided to move back to Forks to live with my dad to let her enjoy married life without my being in the way."

"So you left of your own free will?" I interjected. "That was very selfless of you."

"Phil, my step-father, played Minor League Baseball and traveled a lot, I wanted her to be able to travel with him and not be stuck behind with me."

"Again, selfless." I knew that not many kids would have done the same in her position.

She shrugged and keep going, "When I moved to Forks I met my two best friends, Jake, who you already met, and Angela. After high school, I went to the University of Washington and got a degree in literature. I love to write, but haven't written anything worth submitting. Once Jake became a pilot for Sky Jet, I had no real direction my life was taking, and I decided to become a flight attendant. I really love it too. On my off days I write if I'm not hanging out with Jake or Ange at home in Seattle. That's me in a nutshell."

By this point we reached the park. I led her to the little stone trail and we began to follow it.

"Fascinating. What do you like to write most?"

She looked a little apprehensive, answering softly, "I typically write romantic novels." She rushed and said, "Not romance novels, but more like the Jane Austen romantic classics set in the world today…"

"I'm sure they are very good. You should look into publishing something one day. You may be surprised at how well received your work might be." I smiled at her reassuringly.

Her lip curved upward slightly and she leaned into me as we walked. It was May, so I knew she couldn't be cold. We were in Georgia.

"Tell me about you, Edward."

It took me a minute to answer because I was reveling at her arm being around my waist and mine around her shoulders. She felt amazing and I again just wanted to take her back to my hotel so that I could explore her body and she could explore mine.

"You know my name already, but my middle name is Anthony. I was born in Chicago and grew up there. I went to the University of Illinois and once I graduated with my degree in business, I decided to become an Air Marshal. I have been in the force for a little over two years now. I have no brothers and sisters, but I have grown to love two of my force buddies as brothers and their wives as sisters. I also now live in Seattle, which is where I am based. I needed a change from home, and I truly feel like I ended up in the right place."

We continued to walk around for a while in silence before sitting down on a nearby bench. She continued to lean against me, which I had no objections to, but then she looked up with a question in her eyes.

"What is it?" I wanted to know what she was thinking.

"I'm trying to figure out why you chose to become a US Air Marshal when you went to school for business."

I sighed. "That's a loaded question that I don't typically speak about. Bu- "

She immediately jumped out of my grasp before I could complete what I was saying. "I'm so sorry! I did not mean to pry."

I chuckled, "Bella, don't be absurd. I just wanted to explain that what I am about to tell you is something I don't tell many. I want to tell you."

Her soulful brown eyes shone with a look of guilt, which I thought was adorable, but needless. She nodded for me to continue.

"I was just starting college when 9/11 happened. My aunt and uncle, Esme and Carlisle Cullen, lived in New York at the time. My aunt worked at the world trade center as a secretary and my uncle was a fireman. On September 5th, they found out that they were finally approved to adopt a child. They had tried for so long and went through many fertility procedures to help them have a baby with no success. So when they found out that they were approved, they were thrilled. They were scheduled to go pick up their new daughter on September 15th. My aunt took off work for a few days to get the new baby's room together and buy the necessities. Her first day back to work was the 11th."

I was getting immensely sad recounting this story, but I wanted to continue. It was good to talk about this. I have only mentioned it a few times in the past. Bella squeezed my hand in encouragement.

I whispered, "She was one of the ones that were killed that day. My uncle was one of the first responders to get there. God bless his soul he tried to get to her, he tried to find her, but he couldn't. Things were too hectic, it was too dark. It took them 10 hours to find her. My uncle was never the same after that. He might as well have died that day with her. He wouldn't eat or talk. He basically went comatose, but he was awake. Even know all these years later, he barely leaves his house. He has mourned for her every minute of every day since that day. It was then that I knew that I would do what I could to protect anyone from going through what he and thousands of others went through that day. I finished school – mainly for my parents – and immediately upon graduation, I went to train to become an air marshal. I have never regretted my decision."

I turned my head to look at Bella. She has tears streaming down her cheeks. I used my thumb to wipe her tears away. "Shh, I'm sorry to have dumped that on you."

"Oh Edward! I'm so sorry! I cannot imagine how terrible that must have been for you and your family. Thank you for sharing such a personal story with me." She wrapped her arms tightly around me. We held each other and I can't explain it, but it felt like a piece of me was healing by telling her this and knowing she cared.

I stood up and reached for her hand. Her hand slipped in mine and I helped her up. I did not let it go.

"It's getting late, Beautiful. I should get you back to your hotel. Come on, I will give you a ride."

We began walking to my rental car; I helped her into the passenger side and walked around to get in the car.

"So, where to?"

She told me where she was staying, and then called Jake to let him know that she was on her way back to the hotel. I couldn't help but look over at her every couple of seconds. She was basically doing the same with me.

When we arrived at her hotel, I put the car in park and turned fully to look at her. I lifted my hand to her face and slowly stroked her cheek. She leaned her head in toward me and looked deeply into my eyes.

"Thank you for tonight," I fervently whispered to her.

"Edward?" She looked nervous.

"Yes, Beautiful?" She could ask me whatever she wanted. I would do anything for her, and I knew this.

"W-would you like to come up to my room with me?" She stuttered.

**AN**: Okay! I gave you almost double the length of what I normally would in hopes that you will forgive me for the late post!

Did you enjoy Edward and Bella? What about poor Esme and Carlisle? My heartfelt condolences to anyone who was affected by the tragedy that took place on 9/11/01.

Please review! Thanks!


	4. Chapter 4

BPOV

**AN: **Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since my last update. I'm so sorry for that. What can I say? My life remains to still be at a crazy place. But, I really do appreciate you sticking with my fanfic.

I've actually had this chapter written now for over a week, but it needed a lot of work and I struggled with if I should do a lemon or not. This chapter earns its M rating because there IS A LEMON, so consider yourself warned! You can all thank my beta, Limona, for steering me in that direction. I must thank her for all the advice, time and effort she put into making this chapter considerably better. Thank you!

I hope you enjoy it!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight. Such a shame…

**BPOV**

I had such an amazing time with Edward walking around the park. My feelings were indescribable as he confided how the 9/11 terrorist attacks affected him and his family. I wanted to wrap my arms around him and never let him go. I was disappointed when he pulled away from me, announcing it was time to take me back to my hotel, because being with him felt so right.

After I told him the name of my hotel, we remained silent for the rest of ride there. It was a comfortable, companionable silence; his right hand rested on the gear shift, and I repeatedly resisted the urge to lay my left hand on top of his.

I snuck a glance at Edward and saw that his eyes were trained on the road. I took the opportunity to admire him. The line of his jaw looked incredibly firm, and his lips seemed soft and full and so kissable. I tore myself away from his lips to look at the road again. My mind was going wild with thoughts of his lips and what they would feel like on me.

The car pulled to a stop, and broke me out of the fantasy I played in my mind of Edward and me rolling around between the sheets. As he put the car into park, I unfastened my seatbelt prepared to go inside after my wonderful evening with Mr. Perfect. Before I could grab the door handle he shifted his body toward me in his seat. I looked at him expectantly. There was a look in his eyes that I couldn't quite recognize.

He lifted his hand to my cheek, lightly stroking it with his thumb. My face naturally leaned in toward his warmth. I looked searchingly into his eyes to see if I could catch his silent message.

"Thank you for tonight." He whispered it almost reverently as if I had somehow changed him.

_Could it be possible that I somehow affect him as he seems to affect me? Do I really want the night to end like this?_

"Edward?"

"Yes, Beautiful?"

_Ok, it's now or never. I may not ever have this opportunity again, and I don't think I could live with myself if I let him just walk out of my life right now._

"W-would you like to come up to my room with me?" I couldn't get the sentence out without stuttering.

_Way to go genius… if he was into me before, he might be having second thoughts now. _

He was quiet for several moments and seemed to be in an internal debate. I softly covered his hand with mine. "Edward, we don't have to do anything you don't want to do, I just –," he silenced me by pressing his lips to mine.

His lips were as soft as I could have hoped. My body wasn't prepared for the sensation that spread from my lips down to my toes. He applied gentle pressure at first, then deepened the kiss. He wove his fingers through my hair. My hands slowly slid up his arms and around his neck and up into his soft silky hair. My body tried its damndest to get closer to his, my heart fluttered and my breathing became labored.

"Bella," he breathed against my lips. I needed him and I needed him now.

"Come up with me Edward. Please," I said softly.

He shifted back into his seat, facing forward. I wasn't sure if he was planning to reject me or park the car.

He looked over at me once more. "Only if you are sure, Bella. I don't want you to feel like you have to do this. I want to get to know you-" His eyes roamed over my body. "And I do mean all of you. I am planning to do that no matter what. But, I don't want us to rush. I like you too much to mess this up. Are you sure this is what you want?"

_He liked me that much? Thank you God! I don't know what I did to deserve this, but thank you!_

"I'm sure. But I agree with you, we don't have to rush. I just don't want this night to be over yet. Let's see where the night takes us." I smiled at him, and hoped that he would see how sincere I was. I would be fine no matter what happened tonight. We could talk, we could be silent, we could sleep or we could make love. No matter the outcome, I would be happy just to be with him.

He smiled tenderly back at me and started the car again, driving us to a valid parking space. He got out and had my door opened before I picked my purse up off the car floor. After he assisted me out of the car, we walked hand in hand through the hotel until we reached my hotel room. I turned my back to the door to look at him, "Thank you. Whatever happens tonight, I want you to know that having you on my flight today was the best thing that has happened to me in a long time."

I leaned into him, lifting myself on my toes to kiss his cheek. I turned around to put my key card into the lock and his arms snaked around my waist. His lips planted feather-light kisses along the back of my neck.

_Oh, sweet Jesus…_

The card reader flashed green, alerting me that the door was open. As I pushed the door open Edward said, "You are truly amazing, Bella. I cannot wait to show you just how you make me feel."

My knees went weak with his implications and my panties immediately became wet. I couldn't move, and as a result, the door I had just pushed open swung back towards me in an attempt to close. It would have slammed into my face had it not been for Edward's hand flying up to stop the door from closing. He chuckled.

I spun around playfully glaring at him. He smirked back at me, a crooked smile that nearly made my heart flutter again. He stepped forward, giving me a quick kiss before he stepped past me into the hotel room. "Are you coming in Bella?"

_Damn that man and all his sexiness! He's making me incoherent, _I grumbled to myself as I walked into the room.

"Why don't you get comfortable Edward, I'm going to change. I'll be out in a minute." I didn't look at him while I said this. I was afraid that if I did, I would attack him, and I needed to show more self restraint than that. I went to my luggage and picked out my new blue silk cami and shorts pajama set that I got as a gift from Angela for my birthday. I couldn't have been more appreciative for the set than I was at this moment. Normally I packed my favorite pair of sweats and an old, ratty t-shirt.

I freshened up in the bathroom and changed into my silky pajamas. I combed my hair to try to tame it, all the while hoping Edward would mess it up in the near future. I didn't know what it was about him, but I felt like a hormonal teenager around him.

After inspecting myself to see if I looked good, I opened the door to walk out. I wasn't prepared for what I saw. Edward was sitting on the bed, his back leaning against the headboard, shirtless. His abs were much more defined than I initially thought. The only way to describe them was washboard. With the way he was sitting, his pants were pulled low enough to see his V definition. His chest was hairless and smooth. I couldn't stop my eyes from roaming over his body.

He softly cleared his throat, causing my eyes to jump up to his face. He wore a look of amusement.

"I hope you don't mind. I don't have my normal sleep attire with me."

I cleared my throat to ensure that I wouldn't squeak when I spoke and smiled. "No problem at all."

I placed the dress I wore this evening in my luggage before walking toward the bed.

"You look lovely," Edward complimented me. I could feel myself blushing.

"Thank you," I said shyly.

I climbed onto the bed, sitting so that I faced him. I had a difficult time keeping my eyes from straying over his shirtless body, but thought I was doing a decent job of looking him in his eyes – which were mesmerizing.

"So have you ever had to apply your training on an actual flight," I asked, trying to fight the awkwardness that started to settle between us. I thought maybe if we talked some, it would help keep my mind out of the gutter.

I could tell he wasn't expecting the question, but he didn't seem to mind. "Yes, once I did. I can't go into the specifics of the case because the threat was neutralized before landing. The passengers were debriefed and sworn to secrecy so that the media would not catch wind of the situation."

"Were you scared?" I had to imagine I would be terrified if that were to happen on a flight I was on, trained or not.

Edward looked thoughtful for a moment before answering. "I wouldn't say I was scared. My adrenaline was pumping and I knew that I had to protect those innocent passengers on the plane. We are trained to handle situations like that one and when it came down to it, my mind and body went into auto-pilot and my partner and I were able to diffuse the situation."

I was in awe. I didn't know whether to be relieved that he made it out of that flight okay or scared that he would most likely be faced with that type of situation again in the future. I couldn't bear the thought of him being in danger, even if it was his job.

I leaned into his body and situated myself so that I lay on my side, my head rested on his chest and my arm wrapped around his stomach. I strained my neck so that I could look up at him. "The thought of you being in that situation petrifies me. I know you have skills to handle that type of thing, but it scares me to think of all the repercussions that could come from it. You are so brave, Edward."

He kissed my forehead. "It's easy to be brave, Bella, when you have nothing to lose."

I held him tighter to me. If anything were to happen to him, I knew I would be devastated. But I just met him, and I didn't think that was the right thing to say to him at this point. Instead I tilted my head toward him again and kissed him deeply. I ran my fingers through his hair and pulled him closer to me.

He groaned into my lips and pulled my body directly onto his. Both of our lips separated in anticipation of further exploring each other's mouths. His tongue danced with mine, and the taste of him was intoxicating.

His hands slowly traveled further down my back until they gripped my ass firmly, kneading it with a tantalizing pressure.

My body yearned for more of his touch and my limbs started to act on their own accord. My knees went to either side of Edward's waist and straddled him while my hands fingered the muscles in his chest, stomach, neck and back.

Edward's hands shifted to my hips and gently guided them back and forth to create friction between us.

I felt a fresh rush of arousal as I anticipated what was to come. Our kiss was slow and sensual; his lips traveled down to my neck. He sucked and licked near my collar bone and electricity shot through my body.

I wanted to taste more of him. I pushed off his body just enough to slide further down his. I licked and nipped at his neck a little before I went further down; my kisses trailed down toward his sculpted pectoral muscles.

The tip of my tongue flicked his nipple. He moaned at the sensation. Encouraged, my tongue swirled over it and sucked on it momentarily before I switched to his other side.

I could tell he enjoyed the feel of my lips on him, but I wasn't satisfied. I needed to know how he would taste as my lips wrapped around his length and sucked him. The thought alone made me so wet I could feel some of my juices start to trickle down my thigh. I continued my journey downward; small kisses marked the trail I took as I neared my intended destination.

Once I reached the top of his jeans I paused the kissing and began to unbuckle his belt, he moaned my name, "Bella…"

I looked up at him beneath my eyelashes. His eyes were trained on mine. They held an intensity that made me freeze.

His hands caressed my cheeks, and then wrapped themselves in my hair. I took that as a sign to continue, but he pulled me up instead.

I frowned. "Edward, I want to do this for you." My voice dropped an octave. "I _need_ to do this for you."

My want for him seemed to make Edward struggle to remain in control. "Bella, love. Remember I told you how I couldn't wait to show you _just _how you make me feel?" His voice was thick with want.

I nodded. Of course I remembered. How could I forget?

"Then let me do that," he said in a voice that was so sexy I nearly came right there on the spot. He effortlessly flipped us so that I was on my back and he was in between my legs.

His hands played with the hem of my camisole and stated to lift it up. I lifted my arms to make it easier to remove. He inhaled sharply as he stared at my bare chest.

"You are so fucking beautiful, Bella."

It was my turn to grip his firm buttocks, and I pressed him closer to my aching core. I groaned at the feel of him positioned right at my entrance. The only barriers between us were a few pieces of clothing. He had to see the effect he had on me and how badly I needed him.

He captured my right nipple in his mouth. His mouth sucked on my breast urgently. My nipples were already erect before he started in on them, but now I was convinced they were hard enough to cut through steel.

He kissed in between my mounds before he moved on the left nipple. The feel of his tongue swirling around was amazing. If he could do this to my breast, I wondered what skills his mouth would perform on my clit.

Almost as if he could read my mind, he placed his fingers inside the waistband of my silk shorts and blue lace panties. He pulled them down without ever breaking contact with my nipple. I lifted my hips to make getting rid of them easier.

His emerald eyes never broke my gaze as he placed one last kiss on my swollen breasts and slowly traveled down my body.

"I can smell how much you want me and it's the sexiest thing I've ever smelled." He inhaled slowly and deeply to emphasize his words.

My body quivered slightly with anticipation. "Stop teasing me Edward," I said throatily. "I want you so badly. All this talk about showing me how I make you feel… well, I'm waiting."

His eyes darkened and he growled at my words and sprang into action. Edward's hands grabbed my ankles and lifted them as he pushed my legs back so that my knees were nearly touching my shoulders and feet were in the air. He stared unabashedly at my wet folds for a moment before he slipped his tongue in between my slit.

"Oh God! Edward!" I screamed at the sensation that ripped through my body.

He lapped up my juices and started fucking me with his long firm tongue. He paid careful attention to my bundle of nerves, sucking it and blowing cool breath on it every once in a while.

I felt the pressure building in my lower region. He inserted two fingers in me and pumped them in and out. "Yes! Right there, that's the spot. Don't stop. Please don't stop!"

I could feel myself about to tip over the edge as Edward continued to suck my swollen clitoris and finger fuck me.

I screamed his name as all the pressure that built up finally released into waves of ecstasy. He removed his fingers and looked up at me.

Edward gave me a lop-sided grin. "Bella, you are more delicious than anything I have ever tasted. I could eat you up all day every day."

"Damn, Edward. You are so sexy. That was amazing. Thank you."

He brought his body up so that he was face to face with me again and kept his weight off of me as he leaned in and whispered in my ear, "You haven't seen anything, yet."

Again his words sent shivers through my whole body, and this time they led straight to my lower region. I smiled seductively at him, looking forward to what was to come.

I was surprised when he suddenly jumped off of me and the bed. I was about to question him to see what was wrong, but he reached into the back pocket of the jeans that still clung to his body and pulled out his wallet. He took out a condom and tossed it on the bed.

He then unbuckled his belt and the button of his jeans since I was stopped from completing that task earlier. Unzipping them further, he slid the jeans down his legs and stepped out of them. He stood before me clad only in a pair of dark grey boxer briefs. His erection was evident. I couldn't speak. My hands, however, reached up to stroke his length. His hips bucked slightly under my touch. His eyes closed and his head rolled back slightly.

I wanted to see him, all of him. I positioned myself to sit on the edge of the bed and lowered his boxer briefs slowly to the floor.

He looked like pure perfection. He was after all Mr. Perfect, as I nicknamed him earlier. He certainly justified the name now that I saw him standing in all his glory. He was thick and long. I had only ever been with one guy before him and Edward put him to shame.

I stroked his engorged dick again and felt it jump slightly in my hand. My thumb spread the small amount of pre-cum around at the tip of his erection. I continued to stroke him up and down. I licked my lips in anticipation of tasting him but he captured my lips with his before I had the opportunity.

He pushed me back onto the bed, retrieving the condom he had put there earlier. "Bella, are you sure this is what you want?"

"Please, Edward. I need you. I need to feel you inside of me." I looked him square in the eye as I said this to show I was serious.

He quickly unwrapped the condom and rolled it down his full length. He placed one knee on the edge of the bed and grabbed my ass, scooting it closer toward the edge of the bed and him.

He easily entered me, completely filling me. "Mmmm, Edward…"

"Bella, you feel so damn good… so tight," He groaned as he started moving his hips.

We rocked back and forth at a slower pace at first, and then increasing our speed. He spread my legs further apart and pushed further into me. "E-Edward, YES fuck me harder. I'm so close!"

He continued to pound into me, our bodies glistening with sweat. Once again the pressure that had built up within me burst and I screamed his name as I felt myself clamp down around him. Wave upon wave of pleasure rolled off of my body.

The sensation of me clamping down on him must have tipped Edward over the edge because he followed right after me. He grunted one last time as I felt him pulse within me.

He collapsed on top of me for a minute before rolling off of me. He sat up to remove the condom and toss it in the trash.

He lay back down and cuddled up to me. I wrapped my arms around his waist and lay my head on his shoulder. I sighed contentedly.

"That was amazing, Bella. I can't even begin to describe…"

I looked up at him. I knew exactly what he meant. I leaned in and gave him a slow, sensual kiss. "That was definitely amazing." I smiled into his lips.

I couldn't stifle the yawn that escaped my lips shortly thereafter. I smiled sheepishly. "Goodnight, Edward. Thank you for giving me the best night of my life." I kissed him again, more quickly this time.

"Bella, I'm planning to give you many, many more nights like tonight if you'll let me. Go to sleep, love."

_Love? Hmm… I could get used to the sound of that._ I smiled, utterly content.

He started humming softly into my hair and I instantly closed my eyes. I didn't fight the sleep that came shortly after that.

OOoOoOoOoOoOoO

I was having an incredible dream. Edward was kissing me deeply and whispering sweet nothings in my ear. I felt so cherished, so loved. Then he began to place small kisses all over my face. My left cheek, my forehead, my lips, my chin… it felt so real.

"Bellllaaaa, wake up beautiful," Edward sang into my ear before he kissed my right cheek. "Bella, love, wake up."

Slowly, I opened my eyes, realizing that he was kissing my face in attempt to wake me up.

"Edward?" I sighed happily at the sight of him. "What time is it?"

"It's 6:30, Beautiful, and I have to head back to my hotel so that I can check out of my hotel and catch my flight back to Seattle."

I frowned at this. "You have to leave already? You can't stay in bed a little longer?"

He looked intently into my eyes, "I wish I could. You have no idea how much I want to stay in bed with you, never leaving your side, having repeats of last night." I blushed a little at his last remark. He sighed as sat himself up and ran his fingers through his bed head. "Are you going back to Seattle today too?"

"I am. I should be back around 5:00 this evening. I have plans with my best friend Angela, but I'm available for the rest of the weekend." I wrote down my number on the hotel pad that laid on the nightstand and passed it to him. "You can call me if you are available. I'd like to see you again."

I couldn't help myself. I blushed with the admission of my feelings for him.

He smiled at me and lifted his hand to one of my blushing cheeks. "I absolutely am available for you. I will call you tonight to make sure you made it in safely and to set up our plans for the weekend."

I nodded my head.

He got out of bed and put on his pants, shirt and shoes. I laid there looking at him, still unbelieving that this man, Edward Masen, wanted me. For the most part, I was just plain Bella.

When he had everything he needed, he leaned down and gave me one last kiss. It was short, but very sweet. Endearing almost.

"Goodbye, Bella. Please be safe."

"You too, Edward."

With that, he turned slowly towards the door. As he opened it, he turned back to me and gave me a sad smile. I was positive that my own face mirrored his.

"Talk to you soon," I quietly called as shut the door behind him. I laid back down in the bed, completely miserable and realized that I should be getting up soon myself. _A few more minutes never hurt anyone_, I reasoned.

As I lay there, my cell phone started to ring. I jumped out of bed to run to the phone. I was amazed I didn't trip.

_Please let it be Edward, please let it be Edward_. I chanted this repeatedly as I fumbled through my purse to try to pick it up in time.

"Hello!" I cringed as I realized I sounded a little overly chipper.

A deep male laugh sounded on the other end, automatically I knew that is was Jake. "And here I was expecting you to berate me for calling you this early in the morning. What's got you so happy?"

"Shut up, Jake. I thought you were Edward."

"Oh really?" I could hear the curiosity in his voice, but he decided to drop it without asking questions. I'd fill him in later. "Sorry to disappoint you Bells, but no such luck." He was clearly amused.

"That's ok; I suppose I can settle for talking to my best friend. What's up?"

"I was just going to drag you to breakfast with me before we leave for the airport. We have a busy day ahead of us. We have to fly to three different airports before getting home tonight. Will you be ready to check out in 30 minutes?"

I wasn't quite ready to get out of bed yet, but I was a bit hungry. "Yeah, I'll meet you in the lobby in 30."

"Great. See you in a few." We hung up and I scrambled to take a shower, iron and get into uniform in 30 minutes.

I met Jake in the lobby; we both checked out and walked down the street to a nearby café. We sat down at one of the open tables with our blueberry muffins and coffee. I was contemplating if I wanted to tell Jake now or later about Edward. I guess I took too long to decide because Jake sat back with a serious facial expression.

"Tell me about how your evening went yesterday with Edward. It obviously went well by the way you answered your phone." He grinned as he said that last part.

My face got hot from embarrassment. "Things went really well, Jake, I like him so much. And guess what? He lives in Seattle." I beamed at him, and then continued, "And he is so sweet, a real gentleman."

I went on to tell Jake that Edward stayed with me the previous night. For the next 15 minutes I gushed about Edward. I, of course, left out personal details.

"Wow, Bells. I didn't think I would see the day that you were like this over anyone. Not since that bastard ex of yours. I'm so happy for you." He came over and hugged me.

"Thank you, Jake! He is an amazing man and I cannot wait to see where this goes." I know I looked cheesy right now, but oh well. I was happy and it was all because of Edward.

"Just promise me you'll be careful. You both have only known each other for a short time and moved pretty fast, I don't want you to fall too quick only to get hurt."

I appreciated his concern. "I know, Jake. I'll be careful. I promise. I just know that there is something different about him. I don't see him ever intentionally hurting me." I tried to reassure Jake and myself. Edward and I were moving kind of fast.

Jake and I finished eating our muffins and drinking our coffee, chatting about other random things. It was time to head to the airport.

"Come on Bells, let's go get this day over with so we can get back home. It's poker night and I have the feeling it's my lucky night!" I shook my head at my friend. This was why I loved him.

Off to work. Next stop, Dallas Texas.

**AN**: I've already started on Ch.5 so there should be an update later this week.

Reviews make my day!


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed and/or added my story as an alert or favorite. I am so flattered that you all seem to like my fic! I hope you enjoy this next chapter. Things are really starting to pick up now!

Just to refresh you on the timeline so far – chapters 1 – 3 took place on Thursday, and chapter 4 was Thursday night and Friday morning.

*Pappaduex's is a cajun seafood restaurant chain. I'm not sure if there is one in Seattle, but I decided to write it in anyway.

As always, many thanks to my Beta, Limona, who edited my story while being sick. You are truly amazing and appreciated!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight. Never have and never will.

**EPOV **–Friday

As I pulled into headquarters, my mind continued to drift back to thoughts of last night. Since I left her, I wasn't able to get Bella and last night's events out of my mind. On the flight back from Atlanta, all I did was think about her. Her lips, her eyes, her voice, the way she felt while I was inside of her, and the way she moaned my name in the heat of passion.

I shook my head in attempt to clear my head of these thoughts. I needed to focus long enough to go into the office and research this guy from yesterday's flight. I was glad the picture I took on my phone was good enough to upload into the database for my search. It could turn out that this guy was perfectly legit, but my gut feelings were usually pretty on point, and my gut was telling me that this guy was up to something.

I walked up to the main entrance of headquarters and swiped my badge for access into the building. A few people nodded hello/good morning upon my arrival. There was a lot of hustle and bustle in the office because today is the last day before the weekend and people were trying to finish tasks before the end of the work day.

I made my way up to my fourth floor office and headed straight for my computer. I sat down and pulled up the NSPSD - National Security Personnel System of Defense. Entered my credentials and password, I gained access to the site then referred to the flight roster I received once we had landed in Atlanta. I located and uploaded the picture. The name on the roster identified the man to be Jean Gipps. I figured I could search the name and the picture in two different searches simultaneously. If everything was on the up and up then they would output the same information. If not, then I would have to do a little more research.

I set both searches in motion and walked to the other side of the room to make some coffee. While the grounds were brewing, I would look over my shoulder from time to time to see if anything had come back yet. This was no short process; the system searched every US government, defense, military, police and international embassy file that was not classified.

Once my coffee was ready and tweaked to my liking, I returned to my desk and continued to wait, taking advantage of the opportunity to allow my thoughts to drift back to Bella. In truth, I was anxious to call her and ask her to dinner for tomorrow night. I knew she was in the air most of today and had some sort of plans with her friend Angela tonight. I would try to catch her before she went out. My head was pulled out of the clouds by the sound of an alert indicating the searches were complete.

I set my cup down and looked at the screen. I checked the name search first. All of the photos that were returned for 'Jean Gipps' were not the guy I'd seen on the plane. This told me that this man, in all probability used forged documents and identification.

I pulled up the facial recognition search to see if there were any matches there. I was floored at the results that came back. There in front of me were over 15 different pictures of this man; every picture showed him with a different appearance. Some showed him with mustaches, beards, locs, short hair, long hair, different hair and eye color. One even showed him with scars that he didn't have yesterday. There was a long list of known alias, names he used in the past that were attached to his file. I supposed I'd just discovered another one of his aliases – "Jean".

I continued to read his file in the hopes of getting to know more about him. He appeared to be an independent assassin who was sometimes linked to the well-known terrorist organization – Volturi. The Volturi were based in Italy, but had been around for centuries. Their organization was known for horrific acts of violence across the world. The US and some of our allies banded together, 80 years ago, in a mission to take down the Volturi. That was a fight that our side eventually won, resulting in the termination of some of their leaders. This conflict was never publicized and we believed the threat had been removed. About 10 years ago, intel indicated that the Volturi, under new leadership, were on the rise again. Its current leadership were said to be three men named Aro, Caius and Marcus. No one knew much about them.

I had to report this to the chief immediately. There was the potential for something major to happen and we needed to get a handle on it.

I dialed the chief's number and waited.

He picked up on the second ring. "This is Chief Fason." His gruff, deep voice answered.

"Chief, Edward Masen calling. I have something you need to see immediately. While monitoring a flight yesterday, I discovered a potential threat, Sir."

"I will be there in 15 minutes. Play this one close to the vest as I would like to have an opportunity to assess the data before making others privy and moving forward."

"Of course, Sir. See you shortly." I ended the phone call and paced the room while reviewing possible causes for him to be on that flight, and what could possibly be brewing. Was he merely moving from one location to another or scoping the plane? Was he after one target or was he trying to hijack a plane? The possibilities were endless.

I sat down intent to see if there was any other information I could uncover, but at that moment Chief Fason walked in. The chief was an African-American man about my height, but stockier. He was in his late fifties with short grey hair, slight balding, and a mustache. I knew that in his younger day he was a force to be reckoned with, and still was.

"What have you got for me?" He walked over to stand in front of the computer.

I reviewed with him yesterday's events and what made me want to look into my suspect in the first place. I then showed him the results of my search. He was quiet throughout my spiel and looked contemplative.

"Well done, Masen. You may be right about this being a potential Volturi attack." His brow was furrowed in concentration. "You may go. I know you just got back. I will take your results to our analyst to see if they can give us anything else. I will be in contact with you if anything else comes up."

"Thank you, Chief." He walked out and I sat back down at my computer. I logged off the NSPSD and my computer.

I couldn't shake the feeling that whatever was going on was far from over and would end badly.

Once everything was shut down, I made my way out of the building and back towards my car. I checked my watch, it was only noon. I decided to swing by Jasper's house after picking up some lunch. I gave him a call to see if that was cool. I got the go ahead to come over and I pulled up to his driveway 20 minutes later.

I'd barely rang the doorbell when Alice flew out the door and into my arms for a hug.

"Whoa, what's that for short stuff?" I wasn't complaining. It was good to know my friends loved me, but it was kind of unexpected.

She stood back, shifted her weight to one foot, and put her hands on her hips. "What? I can't hug my good friend?"

I laughed at her. "Was that a hug? I thought you were trying to cut my circulation off at the waist." I loved teasing Alice.

She opened the door wider so I could walk through. "See if I hug you anymore, Edward." She pouted and I immediately felt bad for teasing her.

"I'm sorry Alice, I was just teasing you, you can hug me whenever you want," I pleaded with her so that she could return to the happy Alice that I knew and loved.

She instantly brightened. "Okay!"

Jasper came up behind me and patted me on the back. "Dude, you know she just played you, right?"

I cocked my eyebrow at Jasper. He looked amused. I looked back to see Alice wearing a smug expression.

"I guess I did." I couldn't help but chuckle. Alice was too much. "Hey Jasper, I need to talk to you for a minute." I saw Jasper slip into his professional mode. He nodded and tilted his head in the direction of his office.

"Come on, we can talk in there."

Alice looked from me to Jasper and back again. Cautiously she said, "I'll be in the living room."

Once inside Jasper's office, he offered me a seat. When we were both settled he asked, "So what's going on?"

I thought it'd be best to jump right into it. "You know that feeling that Alice had yesterday, the one that you felt the need to warn me about?"

"Yeah, so what was it, a lady or the job?"

I was so caught up in this assassin guy that I had forgotten that the feeling might have pertained to Bella. I cleared my throat. "Both actually. But I'll wait to tell you about her until we're back around Alice. I'm sure she'll want to hear it."

"You're right." Jasper agreed. "So tell me what else happened, you didn't have a 'situation' did you?" Concern laced his voice.

"No, but I think I uncovered one that will be taking place soon. I noticed a suspicious character on the flight. Almost every aspect about him seemed out of place, so I discreetly took a picture of him when I had the chance and I got the flight roster afterward. When I got back in town this morning, I went straight to the office to check into him."

His face was calm as he soaked up everything I told him. I told him everything I found out about him and my conversation with the chief.

"If you're right about this Edward, we may all be working overtime for the next month until he is either caught or he succeeds in eliminating his target. I guess we'll have to wait to see what the chief uncovers."

"I have a bad feeling about this Jasper. I don't think this is going to end well."

He looked intently at me for a minute before cracking a smile. "Man, you sound like Alice."

I laughed, because one of her is enough. "Let's go find her. I'm sure she'll want to hear about Bella."

We were already walking toward the living room. "Bella, huh? I can't wait to hear about her."

Alice must have impeccable hearing because as we walked in she said, "Who is Bella, Edward?"

"Oh, just the love of his life, honey. He wants to tell us about her." I shot Jasper a glare and I could tell he was fighting a smile.

"Oooh! Sit, sit. You've got to tell me all about her. How did you meet? Where does she live? What does she look like? Is she the one? I knew you would meet someone. You've got to tell me _everything_ Edward!"

"I would if I could get a word in." I laughed at Alice's expression.

"Sorry, go ahead. I'm listening." She put on her serious face and folded her hands in her lap, so I went ahead.

"Well, her name is Bella Swan, she's 23 and the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. We met on the flight I monitored yesterday. She is a flight attendant, lives here in Seattle and we're supposed to go out again tomorrow night."

"Again?" Both Alice and Jasper asked.

"We both had to stay in Atlanta overnight. I coincidentally saw her at a bar last night and we took a walk together to get to know each other better…" I didn't want to give too much detail on the rest of the night.

Alice seemed to notice, but thankfully didn't mention it. "So you forgot to answer the most important question."

"What was that again?" I thought I answered everything.

"Is she the one?"

_Yes_. "I don't know Alice, it's kind of early for all of that. She is very special though." Alice beamed at the last part.

"You have to invite her to dinner with all of us tomorrow night at Pappaduex's. It will be Jas, me, Em and Rose. I want to meet this special lady friend of yours."

"I'll see if she is up for that, but if she isn't we'll just go solo. I'll let you know after I talk to her later."

I glanced down at my watch; it was time to head back home, to work out for a bit, and then to call Bella. I stood up to go. "I've got to run, but I'll call you later this evening to confirm our status for tomorrow."

Jasper and Alice stood up. Alice gave me a hug and told me she looked forward to meeting Bella tomorrow. She really is too confident in herself sometimes; I didn't think Bella would go for dinner with friends just yet. Jasper shook my hand and pulled me in for a one armed man hug. "Thanks for the info Edward, keep me posted if you hear anything."

I assured him I would as I headed back outside toward my car. When I made it home, I changed into my workout clothes and ran a few miles around my neighborhood. When I got back, I showered and changed. I decided it was a good time to call Bella.

I picked my phone up off of the bed and scrolled down to her name. When the phone began to ring I put the phone up to my ear. On the third ring she picked up.

"Hello?" She sounded happy and like she had just laughed at something.

"Hey, Beautiful. Is this a bad time?"

"Edward, don't be silly. I've been waiting to hear from you all day. How was your day?"

It made me ridiculously happy to know she wanted to talk to me as badly as I wanted to talk to her. However, I couldn't tell her about all the details of my day, but I could give her the gist. "It went downhill from the time I had to leave your side this morning, but it's better now that I'm talking to you."

"I know the feeling. Anything you want to talk about?"

I wondered if she could be any sweeter. "I'm content just hearing your voice. But I actually did have a purpose for calling you. I wanted to see if you were free for dinner tomorrow night."

Without hesitation she agreed. "We have two options and it is completely up to you. We could either dine by ourselves or we can dine with a few of my closest friends."

"I would love to meet your friends. Do you think it would be alright if my friends Angela and her husband Ben come as well?"

"I look forward to meeting them. So I'll pick you up at 6:00?" I asked to be sure she didn't mind me going to her place.

"Sounds good. I'll text you my address tomorrow so you know where to pick me up." I could hear the smile in her voice and it made me smile in return.

"I can't wait, Love. I hope you have a good time with your friends tonight."

"Thank you, Edward. Good night." I thought I heard a barely audible sigh escape her lips as she hung up the phone.

I smiled in anticipation of seeing her tomorrow evening. I quickly called Alice to let her know that we would be there along with her friends. She was thrilled at the prospect of having more people to meet. I lay down across my bed and turned on the TV. I wasn't really paying attention to it because I continued to think of Bella.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Saturday

I woke up to the sound of my phone alerting me to a text message. I looked around groggily. Light streamed through my window, so I knew that is was morning. I glanced at the clock, which read 8:44 am. I must have been more tired than I initially thought, because I went to sleep shortly after turning on the television. I never made it under the covers.

I sat up and ran my fingers through my hair and stretched my stiff muscles. In the middle of my stretch, my phone beeped again. I picked it up to read what it said. It was a message from the chief.

_Emergency briefing at_

_headquarters. 10:00 am._

They must have found something major last night to warrant an emergency meeting like this. I didn't have much time to get ready, so I hopped off the bed and turned on the shower. While the water reached my desired temperature, I brushed my teeth and quickly shaved.

I took a brief shower. The scalding water helped my taut muscles relax. After swiftly washing my hair, I got out and started getting dressed. I grabbed a couple of apples to eat on the way to headquarters.

By the time I left my apartment, I had a little over 30 minutes to make it downtown. That was plenty of time. I should be pulling up in 15. I liked to be early so that I had time to grab a couple of items from my desk before finding a good seat.

As I predicted, I parked my car and was in the building within 15 minutes. I once again made my way up to the fourth floor towards my office. Before I reached my office, hushed voices wafted into the hallway. I paused, when I heard my name being spoken. Out of curiosity, I moved toward the voices so I could better hear. I stopped beside Chief Fasons' door. He was talking to someone, I couldn't be sure who.

"He found this information off of a hunch. He's one of the best men we've got in the field." He was obviously talking about me, but why? He said fiercely, "I'm not asking, I'm demanding that he be dealt with accordingly."

"I cannot make any guarantees. Depending on how this mission turns out, I will see what I can do."

"I'm counting on your word on this. It should go without saying that this conversation is to remain between us. No one, especially Masen, is to know about this. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a briefing to make." I could hear his chair scrape against the floor as he stood up, so I hurriedly made my way down the hall to my office before anyone could see me.

What wasn't I to know? I didn't have much time to mull it over before it was time to go to the conference room. I grabbed a notepad and pen and closed my office door behind me. I would have to think this over later.

I noticed Emmett and Jasper sitting near the front with a seat open in between them. I walked over to the seat, and greeted both of them with a head nod and a "what's up". I looked up at the podium and saw that the chief was already there. He was reviewing his notes with a grim expression on his face. A woman was standing off a little in the background.

"Have you two heard anything about why we're all here?" I asked.

Emmett spoke up. "Apparently, they discovered information that leads to a potential air attack, I think it's happening soon."

I opened my mouth to ask another question, but I heard the chief clearing his throat. The chief was ready to begin. So I sat back in my seat.

"Marshals, I will not take up too much of your time. One of our own, Officer Masen, recently identified an extremely dangerous assassin. The assassin was a passenger on one of Masen's randomly assigned flights. Due to Masen's astute surveillance, he was able to identify a suspicious character. We have identified the character as one James LeVuex."

Murmuring could be heard among the 30 or so Marshals in the room.

"James LeVuex has been linked with the widely known terrorist organization – the Volturi. The FBI has been after this guy for the past three years, and this is the first time that he has surfaced on our radar. He continually changes his appearance and name to evade being caught. Once the FBI received the intel from our branch of his activity, they did a complete scan of all airport video footage in the past month and hacked into emails that have been previously linked to him. All data comes back indicating that he is most likely working with the Volturi to hijack a major commercial aircraft within the next 36 hours. The plans are uncertain at this point, but the FBI believes his target to be the White House. The new leaders of the Volturi hold a grudge against the United States government for the demise of their old leaders and want to make a statement to ours."

"James may or may not be working with a woman identified as Victoria Patritz. Their photos are being displayed behind me. FBI Agent Nicole Hodge has been kind enough to come by to give you insight on James and Victoria's profiles. She will also be answering any questions you have about them and will pass out official reports to you now. The reports contain background info, known affiliates, and a hard copy of all their different disguises and aliases."

"Because we are expecting air attacks within the next 36 hours, the FBI has requested our services to try to help mitigate any problems that may arise. We cannot be sure if the Volturi have hired others in addition to James, but we must be prepared. All branches in the US are staffing up to monitor all major commercial airline flights scheduled to fly cross country, especially those heading towards DC."

"The board to my right has the flight schedules for each of you up until Monday evening. Because of the high alert associated with these flights, all flights have two marshals assigned. There is no negotiation on this matter. Once Agent Hodge has finished briefing you, check which flights you are on and get ready to depart."

"Let this teach you the importance of being vigilant while on all flights, even those deemed low risk. Be safe up there and be smart. I want to see all of you make it back safely in the office Tuesday." He looked pointedly at each of us.

"Agent Hodge, the floor is all yours." He passed off the floor to the woman I noticed earlier. We all listened intently to the information she gave to us. Once she finished, we all stood to go to the board and check out which flights we had and who our partners were.

As I made my way to the board, many of the other Marshals slapped me on the back in congratulations and to say 'job well done'. I nodded in appreciation, but wasn't too keen on the praise. For the safety of all involved, I would have preferred my suspicions about James to be groundless.

After a few minutes I was able to see the board.

_Edward Masen / Emmett McCarty: Sky Jet Airlines – Sunday, Flight 2804, 10:00 am (Seattle to New York)_

_Air America Airlines – Sunday, Flight 1122, 5:00 pm (New Jersey to Seattle)_

I wrote down the schedule slightly perplexed, Sky Jet is the airline that Bella works for. I would have to see if she is planning to fly in the next couple of days. I couldn't tell her specifically what was going on because this matter was confidential, but I would have no reservations about asking her to take the day off, even if it meant I had to compensate her lost wages. I didn't want her in the air until this was resolved.

I turned to see Emmett wearing a big smile. I rolled my eyes. He lived for this part of the job. He was always itching to beat the shit out of the bad guy. At least I knew that if something were to happen on one of our flights that I would have a good partner.

"Eddie! You ready to go catch us some wannabe bad asses!" He said this while laughing and cracking his knuckles. If nothing were to happen, at least he'd keep me plenty entertained.

"Come on, Partner, we have to go get ready for dinner tonight and these flights tomorrow. It's going to be a long day."

"Oh yeah, Rose mentioned that we are going to meet a new 'lady friend' of yours." He emphasized lady friend by holding up his first two fingers of each hand and wiggling them in quotation marks. He followed that up by wagging his eyebrows suggestively.

"She has a name, Emmett. It's Bella." I was getting a little irritated with him. I hoped he'd act more grown up tonight at dinner.

"Bella, huh? Does she have a nice rack? I bet she's smokin' hot if she caught your eye." He nudged me in the side with his elbow.

"Emmett! That's between me and her, not you. Now shut up before I tell Rosalie what you told me about her parents last Christmas." That wiped the grin right off of his face.

"Somebody's toooouchy." Emmett grumbled under his breath. We walked the rest of the way outside lost in our own worlds. Once we reached the parking lot, we nodded to each other.

"See you later Em, dinner at 6:30, right?"

"Yep, see you over there bro. Can't wait to meet your new hottie!" he laughed while effortlessly jumping into his Jeep. I growled. He just couldn't resist.

I got into my Volvo and headed home for a bit. The dashboard clock read 12:15 pm. I needed to reread briefings and make sure my gun was in good working order. I also planned to practice a few defense moves, to make sure I was still sharp. I wouldn't leave to pick up Bella until 5:30, and I wanted to give her all of my attention for the few hours we had together.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

At 6:00 sharp, I was ringing Bella's doorbell. I tried to smooth out the wrinkles in my shirt from the car ride over. It didn't take long for Bella to open the door. I was speechless. Bella stood in front of me in a form fitting black dress that appeared to tie in the back. It came down to just above her knees. She complimented it with black stilettos and gold dangly earrings and necklace. Simple, yet classy. Her hair fell in soft waves about her shoulders.

I must have stared a little too long because she took the initiative to speak first. "Hello, Edward. You look very handsome tonight." She blushed slightly at her last comment.

"Bella… you look absolutely stunning. I am going to have such a hard time keeping my hands to myself this evening." I was serious.

"Thank you." She flashed me a brilliant smile.

"Are you ready?" I asked her while I extended my elbow out for her to hold. She nodded, linking her arm in mine while she pulled her door closed. I led her to my car, opened her door for her and closed it once she was settled in. Before I made it over to the driver's side she reached over and unlocked my door for me. That made me fall in love with her a little more.

_Fall in love? Whoa, slow down there, Edward. _I needed to keep my feelings in check. We just met and although we spent an amazing night together, we were only beginning to date. The last thing I needed to do was scare both of us off with talk of love.

I got in and started the car, taking us in the direction of Pappaduex's. I'd only been there once before, but the food was pretty good.

"So how was your day today?" I wanted to know how she had been since we talked last night.

"Oh, I got dragged around by Angela to this place and that place. She gets into a new hobby about once a year, and this year it's photography. So we went to see every piece of camera equipment you could imagine. But it was fun. Afterwards I just relaxed and enjoyed my Saturday with a good book."

She smiled a little at the end. She must really enjoy the book she was reading. "What are you reading? It must be good by the expression on your face."

She giggled slightly, "I'm really into the classics, so I am re-reading Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice."

"Ah, you're a romantic are you?"

"Hopeless, I'm afraid." We laughed together.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Angela's husband Ben couldn't make it tonight, so Jake is coming with her. Will that be alright? I'm sorry. I meant to ask you earlier, we just got so busy earlier that –"

"Bella, relax. That's fine. I'll be glad to see Jacob again. I feel better knowing that Angela won't feel like the odd man out tonight. Trust me, I know how that is."

She visibly relaxed and gave me a sincere thank you for being understanding. I assured her, it was no problem again.

We kept up easy flowing conversation for the rest of the way to the restaurant. It was a pleasant change from the past few dates I'd been on. I parked the car and opened her door for her.

She grabbed the hand that I offered and teasingly said, "Thank you, kind Sir."

"Anything for you my lady."

We were laughing as we entered the doors to the restaurant. I looked over to see Jasper, Alice, Emmett and Rosalie standing near the hostess station. I led Bella over to the group.

"Bella, I would like you to meet my closest friends in the world." I introduced each of them as she shook everyone's hand except Alice, who brought her into a hug. I thought I heard her claim something about them being fast friends.

Jasper and Emmett gave me approving looks. They weren't telling me anything I didn't already know. Bella was the more than I deserved and was the total package. I would work hard not to screw this up.

Shortly thereafter, I saw Jake walk in with a woman who I took to be Angela. She was tall and slender with straight brunette hair that fell a little longer than her shoulders. She had a sweet disposition to her that made me feel I would have no problem befriending her.

"Angela! Jake! I'm so glad you could make it, let me introduce you to everyone." Bella waved them over to where we were standing.

After they were all introduced, Angela and Jake told everyone how nice it was to meet us. Angela then leaned into Bella and whispered, "He's a cutie, girl! You did good!"

I couldn't hold the chuckle that escaped my lips. I looked to see both women blushing slightly. I was sure I wasn't supposed to hear that. I placed my hands on either side of Bella's waist and looked at her. "I think I'm the one that did good."

She was about to reply but the hostess asked us to follow her to our table. We all followed her and sat together as couples.

Dinner went smoothly as Emmett and Jacob cracked jokes, Alice and Angela talked animatedly, Jasper and Bella acted as the peacekeepers, and Rosalie and I initiated different topics. Everyone seemed to really enjoy each other's company.

Not once did Emmett, Jasper or I mention the stress that each of us was feeling for the next day. But from time to time, I could see each of them become lost in thought for a moment or look nervous. I'm sure my face must have mirrored their expressions at times. I worried about Bella and tried to think of ways to entice her to stay at home tomorrow and Monday, if she was in fact scheduled to work, without coming off as crazy or controlling.

When we all finished our delicious meals and declared we couldn't eat a bite of dessert if we wanted to, we asked for our bill. I intended to pay for Bella, Angela and Jacob, but Jacob would have none of it. We finally settled on Jacob paying for his and Angela's meal, while I would pay for Bella and myself.

Eventually we all stood to leave for the night and before we reached the door Alice placed a hand on my arm to get my attention. I turned to her and her eyes scared me.

"Alice, what's wrong?"

"Promise me you'll be safe and that you will do everything in your power to protect her and that plane." She looked so sad and seemed so serious. Did she know something? Did she get a feeling?

"Did you get a feeling Alice? Do you see something happening? Will something happen to her Alice? I couldn't handle it." I tried to be discreet with our conversation while Bella was busy saying goodbye to her friends.

"I love her already and I consider her a friend, Edward. I don't have a good feeling about whatever is going on. Promise me you'll be careful."

"Of course I promise." With that, she left to embrace Jasper before they left. He gave me one last look I couldn't catch what exactly his eyes were telling me. But, whatever it was, coupled with Alice's warning, put me on edge. I looked over at Bella laughing and smiling and my heart constricted. I would _not_ let anything happen to her. Even if I had to stay here and keep her locked up until something happened.

She looked at me and must have noticed my expression because hers immediately became serious. I walked over to them and slipped my calm mask on. We said goodbye to Jacob and Angela and turned to Emmett and Rose to do the same.

"See you tomorrow bro." Emmett looked strangely serious too and just nodded his head before looking longingly at Rose and left.

Bella and I made way to the car and were on our way to her place.

There was a comfortable silence between us, each of us deep in thought. It wasn't long before we were parked in front of her apartment. I once again helped her out and walked her to her door.

"Edward, what's going on? Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine Bella, truly. Thank you for accompanying me to dinner tonight. I can't remember the last time I've had so much fun at dinner with the friends." I flashed my crooked smile. Her eyes darkened slightly as she looked at my lips.

I leaned my head down and kissed her lips softly. It was sweet and chaste; I pulled away before I had a chance to deepen it. I needed to find out if she would be safe or not.

"Bella, love, can I ask you something?"

"Whatever you want," she replied huskily.

I inwardly groaned, she was not going to make this easy on me. "When is the next time you plan to work?"

She looked a little startled at the question. She hesitantly answered. "I have the next three days off, so Wednesday… why?"

"I was just wondering. Would it be alright if we went out again Tuesday night?"

I saw relief pass over her face. "Of course, I can't wait. How would you feel about me preparing dinner at my place?"

I kissed her again, this time more sensually. I let my lips linger on hers. She moaned slightly into my mouth. She tasted so sweet, and I was able to enjoy it knowing that she wouldn't be flying any time soon.

I placed my hands on her hips and pressed her back up against her door before closing the space between our bodies. We stood there kissing for what seemed like an eternity before I pulled away.

"I can't wait for Tuesday," I said. "You have no idea."

"Oh, but I do. Did you want to come in for a while?" She bit down on her bottom lip waiting for my reply.

If I thought I was leaving her tonight, I was sadly mistaken. I kissed her fiercely and picked her up. She instantly wrapped her legs around my waist. I stepped inside of her apartment, pushed the door closed with my foot and headed straight for the couch.

OoOoOoOoOo

Three hours later I softly kissed Bella's forehead. Her bare body was pressed against my own and she wore a peaceful expression in her sleep. We eventually made it to her bedroom and while we lay in her bed, I lightly stroked her hair, gazing at her. She was the one and I knew it. Bella made me feel like I was home. No matter what kind of day I've had, if she were there I knew everything would be alright. I couldn't tell her just yet, but I would tell her sooner rather than later.

It was a little after 1:00 in the morning and I really needed to get back to my place. I knew that if I didn't leave now, it would be that much worse in the morning. "Bella, Love. I have to go," I whispered in her ear. She groaned slightly.

"Why? You can stay the night, you know." She slowly opened her eyes and looked at me.

"I have to work this morning."

She sat up, and maneuvered the sheet so that it still covered her. She looked concerned. "Are things alright? Should I be concerned?"

I didn't want to worry her so I lied. "Bella, everything is fine. I'll be back tomorrow night. You're too tempting is all. If I stay here, I might be forced to call in sick." I smiled and kissed her shoulder, which earned me a giggle from her.

I grabbed her and kissed her with all the emotion I dare not say. I kissed her sweetly, but deeply and ran my fingers over her cheeks and hair softly to show her that she was precious to me. She kissed me with a passion equal to mine. We eventually broke apart and simply looked at each other.

I kissed her one last time on the tip of her nose. "Goodbye, Love." I stood up to put my clothes back on.

"Goodnight, Edward. I don't like goodbyes."

I cupped her cheek in my hand. "Goodnight, Bella. I'll lock the door before I leave, so stay in bed and get some more sleep. I'll call you tomorrow when I get back. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Edward."

I left her there in bed and didn't look back. If I had, she might have seen the look in my eyes and known that this could potentially be the last time I'd ever see her. I went home with a lot on my mind, but at least I wouldn't need to worry about Bella's life being in danger, and for that I was grateful.

**AN:** Thoughts?


	6. Chapter 6

**AN:** I am so sorry that I have not updated in a month! Time literally flies. To my defense I had to pack up and move all my stuff to a new city and start a new job. I've spent the last couple of weeks trying to acclimate to both the city and job. If anyone lives in St Louis, MO, please let me know!

A special thanks to Mart, SweetnSassy, and MuffN'Butter who kindly told me I was taking too long to update and got me back in gear. Lol. This probably wouldn't have gone out now if it weren't for you. I hope this chapter was worth the wait.

I also want to say another thank you to my friend MuffN'Butter who offers up suggestions to improve my story. If you haven't already, then go check out her stories: My Beloved Window, Loss, and Bella Swan and the Seven Cullens. They are fantastic and all so original.

As always, this chapter is beta'd by the amazingly talented Limona. If you haven't read her story Hiding in Plain Sight, then I'm convinced you have been living under a rock. Please go read it immediately. It's an addictive story.

This chapter was also beta'd by MsWendyHill, who gave me some awesome edits. Many thanks to you both for making this chapter better!

Okay, enough of this extremely long AN, on to the story… enjoy!

**BPOV** – Sunday

I woke up encompassed in softness, warmth and the smell of Edward. I sighed contentedly before my eyes fluttered open to look at what my arms were wrapped around. Disappointment flooded me as my eyes focused and I realized that my naked body was cuddling up to the pillow that Edward had been laying on a few hours ago.

I closed my eyes briefly one last time to remember how amazing and intense the night before had been. There was no denying that Edward evoked emotions in me that I was not accustomed to. I was anxious to see him, to hear from him, to touch him – even if it was holding hands. Everything about him drew me in. All I could be sure of is that I felt strongly for him. It was entirely too soon to even consider that it was anything more than me liking him immensely. It was probably his gentlemanly ways that made me swoon.

I have never been with anyone like Edward. My list of ex-boyfriends is pretty short, but even still, none of them had ever looked at me so tenderly or tried as hard as Edward to make me comfortable. I had often heard of people feeling sparks when they were with someone they truly cared for, but I had never experienced it before Edward. It was these same sparks that scared me. I knew that I cared deeply for him, but could he possibly feel the same?

I wanted to do something special for him Tuesday when he comes over for dinner. I would have prepared his favorite dish, but I wasn't sure of what it was. I scratched that idea. I found out at dinner last night that Edward plays the piano and has a love for classical music. The Seattle Symphony Orchestra would be performing Tuesday. I thought it would be nice to surprise him with tickets for us for after dinner. I would need to buy the tickets soon.

Resigned to get up, I released the pillow I was suffocating, stretched, yawned, and glanced over at the clock. It read a quarter past eight o'clock. I tried to decide between a shower and breakfast, and opted for breakfast after my stomach let out a low grumble.

I threw on a robe, walked into the kitchen, grabbed a couple slices of honey wheat bread, and placed them in the toaster. I then scrambled a couple of eggs and poured myself some orange juice. Just as I sat down and took the first bite of my eggs, the phone rang.

I looked at my breakfast, contemplating whether to answer the phone. My stomach argued that I should stay and finish the most important meal of the day before answering any calls. But, my mind reasoned that it might be an important call. My mind won out.

I darted over to the phone in the living room and picked it up by on the final ring.

"Hello?"

"Bella, I'm so sorry to call you this morning." It was my manager, Sharon. If she were calling, she probably wanted me to fill in for someone on short notice.

She continued on, "Eric just called in saying that he's unable to work his schedule today. His wife went into labor and I am trying to find someone to take his place."

"Oh no, I hope that everything turns out all right!" I was concerned for Eric and his wife, because I knew that she was still a month out from her due date.

"As do I, I'm sorry for this terrible inconvenience, but could you possibly fill in for him? I've arranged it so that you would only need to fly one leg of the trip, there and back, instead of the set 3 destinations. What do you say?"

I really didn't want to. I had planned to run some errands today. Since it was an actual emergency, I agreed to do it.

"Sure, what are the flight details?"

"Well, that's the thing. The flight is scheduled to take off in a little more than an hour at ten o'clock. It's going to New York, flight 2804. You will come back on flight 7320 which departs 40 minutes after you land."

I groaned loudly at the fact that I had so little time to eat, shower and make it to the airport for this flight.

"I'm sorry for the short notice, Bella. Thank you so much for agreeing to fill in." Sharon seemed sincere.

"You owe me for this, you know that right?"

She laughed. "You let me know when you're ready to cash in the favor. Now go. You don't have much time."

We said our goodbyes and I ate my food so fast you would have thought I was competing for title of the world's fastest eater. I was finished in 3 minutes.

I headed to the bathroom next to brush my teeth and hop in the shower. I washed my hair knowing that I wouldn't have time to dry it. Out of the shower, I hastily dried off, most likely missing some areas and threw my hair into a bun. It would have to do.

I went back into my room to get dressed grabbing a pressed uniform from my closet. I put on my comfortable black shoes, the ones with the small wedged heel and quickly applied a small amount of mascara and lip gloss. Having grabbed my purse, keys and badge, I practically ran out of my door, and stumbled slightly once before making it to my car.

I got in and as I started the car, glanced at my dashboard clock to see how much time I had to make it to the airport.

_9:30. Crap. _I only had 30 minutes to drive to the airport, park, go through security and get on the plane. I was going to be late.

I sped like a maniac to the airport and made it there in ten minutes faster than normal. A couple of people flipped me the bird when I rode their bumpers until they moved out of my way. I think somebody blew their horn at me as well. Oh well, I had a flight to catch. I parked, jumped out of my car and frantically waved my hand at the shuttle bus that was beginning to pull away. Luck was on my side since they saw me and waited until I ran up to them.

_Shit, did I lock my car?_ My brain was frazzled and I began to regret putting myself through this stress. I hoped that nobody tried to steal my car, because it was too late to turn back now. Thank goodness I was returning home tonight.

"Hiya, Bella!" I heard Sam call out as I boarded the small shuttle bus, which brought me out of my thoughts.

I glanced up and gave him a sincere smile. "Hey, Sam, how's everything? How are Emily and your son doing?" I sat down in the seat closest to him. He closed the doors and started to exit the employee parking area.

"They are great, you will be surprised to see the new pictures I have of little Seth. He's 11 months now." He beamed. I've only seen pictures of his family, but it was apparent that they were his pride and joy.

Sam effectively took my mind off of the time during the short ride to my terminal with talks of his family. He invited me to Seth's birthday party next month, which I happily accepted as I quickly exited the shuttle and waved goodbye.

Since I was a part of a flight crew I breezed through security, putting my purse on the conveyor as I flashed my badge at the TSA employee checking tickets.

When I finally arrived, it was 10:00 on the dot, and the gate was empty of all passengers except two passengers who were getting their tickets scanned. They were most likely standby passengers just now getting the OK to board the plane. I walked up and let the gate attendants know I had arrived and walked on board.

I walked in through the first class cabin and saw Cindy. She was hanging up a jacket when she turned and noticed me.

"Hey, Bella! I didn't expect to see you on this flight."

I pulled her in for a quick hug, happy that at least I would be able to chat with her a few times throughout the flight.

"Tell me about it. I didn't expect it either." I continued to tell her about Sharon's phone call and why Eric couldn't make it.

"I hope everything goes alright with the delivery. But it's good to see you again so soon." She smiled genuinely.

I told Cindy I would be right back as I went into the cockpit to let the captain, who I hadn't flown with before, know I was on board and we could take off whenever they were ready. He welcomed me aboard asking me to close the boarding door because we were about to push off.

Nodding, I closed the cockpit door behind me then walked over to the boarding door I had come through just moments before and proceeded to close it. I confirmed the seal around the door was tight and locks were firmly in place.

Cindy seemed to be busy getting beverages for her first class patrons, so I decided it was time to head toward the back to help out whoever was working the coach cabin. I was almost at the curtain distinguishing the first class cabin from coach when I heard Cindy call my name. I turned back to go see what she needed. When I stepped into the small drink and snack prep station she told me that Nia was taking care of the coach cabin and had everything under control. She had just called up to the front saying she was going to make the announcement in a minute. I had flown with Nia once before, she was nice. So I figured this flight should go by fast and be fairly pleasant. Just then, I felt the aircraft start to push back.

"So…," Cindy inquired as she filled plastic cups with Orange juice.

"So…?" I knew she was probably going to ask me about Edward.

"Have you heard any more from your Mr. Charming?" She knew that we spent time together once we left the bar in Atlanta. I filled her in as we worked our flight schedule back to Seattle Friday.

"I have and we went out last night." I knew she wanted more detail, but I heard Nia come on and begin to make the welcome and safe practices announcement. I didn't want to have to talk over the announcement, so I stopped it there.

"Hold on, let me pass these out real quick. Don't go anywhere. I want to hear details!"

Cindy looked at me expectantly before turning to leave, drinks in hand. I couldn't help but be amused. Either I really needed to find a man or she was trying to live vicariously through me. Either way, she seemed eager to hear more about Edward and me.

She came back in less than a minute and said, "Well, let's have it."

I wanted to tell her; however, Nia was still on the intercom, I held up my hand, with my index finger pointed up to ask her to wait for another minute. Cindy nodded.

Once the intercom was clear I opened my mouth to tell her about dinner and a kiss; but, the intercom beeped again as the captain came on.

"Flight attendants, please prepare the cabin for takeoff and take your seats."

"Well darn!" Cindy laughed at the bad timing. "You will have to come back later in the flight and tell me how it went."

"I will." I giggled at my friend as I walked back to the curtain. I shifted it to the side just enough for me to walk past and put it back in place. I took a quick look around immediately spotting a rather large man, who looked like Emmett, barely contained in an aisle seat close to the front of the cabin. Wait, that _was _Emmett. He looked as surprised to see me as I was to see him. I tilted my head to the side in question and he shrugged his shoulders.

Remembering that I needed to take a seat, I began walking again and spotted a very familiar shade of auburn hair from my peripheral vision. I looked closer and saw that it was in fact Edward. The happiness that I initially felt upon seeing him dissipated as I saw the look of horror on his face. I hadn't realized I'd stopped walking until I made a move to walk closer to him. He quickly shook his head no.

_Oh… Oh! Oh, no. _I now understood and my stomach dropped into my shoes. Sheer terror erupted throughout my body as I realized why both Edward and Emmett would be on this flight. Now all I wanted to do was run back to the pilot and tell him to turn the flight around while we were still on the ground. Could I do that? I certainly could. I started to turn around but then I thought about the fact that I didn't know what was going on and this could just be a precautionary flight. Plus, what would I say? 'My air marshal sort-of boyfriend and his air marshal friend are both on board and my sort-of boyfriend's facial expression terrified me. We need to turn around!' I doubted that would go over well. I didn't want to overreact so I glanced once more Edward before heading to my seat, but he was looking straight ahead.

**EPOV**

I sat at the crowded gate area where approximately 80 passengers waited to board the flight to New York. We had a little over 15 minutes before it was time to board. I discreetly looked around studying everyone's face in my general area to see if I saw anyone who looked like James or Victoria. So far I was coming up empty.

Emmett was sitting 20 feet away in another waiting area doing the same. It was protocol for us not to acknowledge each other or appear as though we knew each other. That way, if a situation was to arise, it would be easier to take the target by surprise.

Earlier when I arrived at the gate, I saw that Emmett had already arrived. He was dressed in athletic clothing, like always. He claimed it made his size less threatening and it was comfortable to fight in. He had a point. I wore blue jeans as a rule, but today I wondered if I should have worn something looser.

I continually scanned the area for James. If I could spot him, I would be able to take him immediately in for questioning and avoid any potential flight problems. I noticed the flight crew boarding and only one looked familiar. The same woman who worked coach with Bella a few days ago – Cindy, I think, was working this flight as well. I was glad that Jacob wasn't the pilot this time. I hoped nothing would take place on this flight, but it would be that much worse if something did and Bella's best friend ended up injured.

After a few more minutes passed, they began calling people to board. I was closer to the back of the plane, so I was one of the first zones called. Marshals always sat in the aisle versus the middle or window seats. This granted us easy access to move around the plane if necessary.

I watched everyone that boarded and thought I saw a woman who looked a little like Victoria getting ready to sit 4 rows ahead of me. She had long, wavy, red hair that was pulled into a ponytail, a slender build, and black slacks and a fitted dark burgundy sleeveless top. But without having seen her in person before, it was hard to say for certain if it was her.

She must have felt me staring because she looked me square in the eye. Her look was calculating. I didn't want to raise her suspicions if she were in fact Victoria, so I smiled and winked. The corners of her mouth turned down slightly, and she gave me steely look prior to sitting down in her own seat. I would be sure to keep my eyes on her. I pulled out my cell phone and texted Emmett.

'V is possibly on board – seat 44C'

Emmett still had not made it on board yet. I watched more people board and still did not recognize anyone who looked remotely like James. Emmett eventually came on board toting a big black suitcase that I didn't recognize as being his. He connected eyes with me briefly then turned around to a little old man I hadn't seen standing behind him initially.

"Well, it looks like all these bins are full. I'll head toward the back to see if I can find a place for your bag." Emmett reassured the old man who looked grateful. I knew what he was doing. He had come up with an excuse to head toward the back to see the woman I suspected might be Victoria. People never gave him enough credit; he thought quickly on his feet.

Emmett lugged the suitcase behind him all the way to the back of the plane and found an empty compartment to place it in. No one noticed him scoping out the suspicious woman. When he headed back up to take his seat and he knew I would be able to see him, he lifted his left hand to scratch the back of his head before replacing his hand back at his side.

This was his signal to tell me that he couldn't be sure. But it was a possibility, otherwise he would have signaled me a definite yes or no.

Without either one of us being sure, we couldn't touch her. I was frustrated and tense. This situation was becoming more threatening and the only thing we could do was sit and wait for something to happen. I was more than prepared to do whatever was required to protect these passengers.

I glanced at my watch. It was ten o'clock exactly, and two last minute passengers boarded. Cindy must have been working first class this time, because she unhooked the blue curtain that hung neatly to a side wall and pulled it over, effectively separating the two cabins. This made the first class passengers feel more elite.

I leaned my head back into the seat's headrest as a part of my act. I was supposed to look like an average guy taking a flight somewhere for personal reasons. Nothing I did should raise suspicions in anyone as to my real purpose on a flight.

I heard the aircraft door being closed and shortly after a flight attendant came on reciting the memorized greeting and safety protocol. I was barely paying attention to her until the very end when her final sentence made my heart accelerate.

"… Cindy is in first class, I am Nia working alongside Bella in coach. Please do not hesitate to let us know if there is anything we can do to make your flight to New York as comfortable as possible."

I looked to the back of the plane to see if I had somehow missed her. I only saw the one flight attendant standing back there working. Could there possibly be another Bella that worked for this airline? What are the odds? But, she couldn't be on this flight. She had told me just hours ago that she had the next few days off.

I tried to calm myself down, hoping that this was a fluke and that MY Bella was safe and sound at home. The pilot came on, announcing we were moments from take off. If I had not seen her yet, then she was not on the plane. The stress began to leave my shoulders when the curtain up front shifted, and Bella came walking through it.

My heart stopped. _No! Please God, no!_

She hadn't seen me. She started walking to take her seat and she paused momentarily when she saw Emmett. Her eyes held confusion, but she kept walking until she saw me. She stopped altogether. Her face wore a myriad of emotions before she took a tentative step towards me.

No one could know that we were together. If this flight were in fact in danger and my identity revealed, if she were linked to me, they would target her to get to me. I would not let that happen. It was better this way. I shook my head to stop her. She looked hurt and I would have felt horrible about that under less extenuating circumstances. But this way was better.

She looked frightened as the situation at hand dawned on her. She looked like she was ready to head back the way she came but stopped again and turned back toward me.

I averted my gaze to the front and concentrated on not looking at her. I felt the plane picking up speed. We would be taking off in a matter of moments and she was still standing there. I saw the woman who could possibly be Victoria looking at Bella quizzically. I felt the immediate urge to shield Bella from her view and drag her to her seat at once. However, I was helpless to do so. Thankfully, she continued walking and took her seat seconds before I felt the plane lift off the ground.

Why is she on this flight? I was upset with myself for not warning her as I should have last night. If I had, she would not be here now and I would not have to worry for her safety on this or any other flight. I wanted to hit the seat in front of me out of anger, but somehow I doubted that would go over well with whoever was sitting in front of me. Nor would that help me maintain my cover, unless I wanted to be deemed the lunatic on board.

I focused all my energy on keeping calm and staying focused. If I lost focus I would likely make mistakes, and mistakes were something that I could not afford.

**AN:** So many of you guessed that Bella would end up on the flight. How right you were. I appreciate feedback, so please review to let me know what you thought of this chapter. I promise the next chapter will not take NEARLY as long as this one did. I think you'll be surprised at what happens next!


	7. Chapter 7

**AN:** I know! I'm terrible. I'm so sorry it's taken this long. Trust that I have been beating myself up for not getting another chapter to you any sooner than this. I have gotten some great reviews, and they all make my day so much brighter. So a very sincere thank you goes out to all of you who have taken an interest in this story.

MuffN'Butter, get to writing! She told me that she wouldn't update her story unless I updated mine. Needless to say, I got my butt in gear to start writing the much anticipated ch. 7. To be honest, I've been dreading this and the next chapter because this is where all the angst and action take place. I hope that it's worth the wait!

To Limona, my beta / editor extraordinaire, thanks for making this chapter better as always.

**James POV**

This latest development complicated my plan. How could they have suspected that something would be happening today? But they did. As I sat in the cockpit waiting for passenger luggage to be loaded and authorization to push back from the gate, control tower informed me that we would have not one, but two Air Marshals on board and that I should be alert for signs of danger.

This was the perk of being the pilot. If I had gone with my original plan, I would never have known about the Air Marshals.

Air Marshals or not, I worked too hard to get to this point and nothing and no one would stop me. Not even Victoria. My plan was four months in the making, every detail carefully planned out. I had hacked into the Sky Jet Airline's computer system to see who was scheduled to pilot this flight. I'd then researched where the unlucky bastard lived, and waited until he came home last night to ensure he would not be flying anything ever again. I had to hide his body to prevent anyone from accidentally finding it. Then this morning, I hacked the system to make a note that he called in sick and was being replaced by Captain Jon Sims. Captain Jon Sims would be me. At least, he was me today.

I'd be damned if I let two USAM drones fuck up my $25 million payday.

From my right pant leg pocket, I pulled out my cell phone. Victoria needed to be as inconspicuous as possible when it came time for her part of the plan. I sent her a text:

_V_

_Watch your back. 2 USAM on board. 15B and 48C_

_J_

The plan was simple and foolproof as far as I was concerned. I was flying the plane so I had control. Victoria would assemble the bomb. I left the necessary items above her designated seat before anyone boarded the plane. All she needed to add were the liquids she brought in her carry-on. She would place the bag with the assembled bomb somewhere on the plane and wait for the right time for phase two of the plan.

My cell phone buzzed. I looked at the new message from Victoria.

_J_

_Don't worry baby, I got it covered_

_V_

She was as cold hearted and ruthless as me, and I loved it. I had no doubt that she could handle herself. She was expert at evading people and getting what she wanted.

The emergency compartment behind my seat was supposed to have two parachutes. I checked one more time to verify they were there. They would be in use before this flight ended. A few minutes passed before I glanced over at my co-pilot, Mike something or other. He was busy checking all the controls and trying not to glance at me. I must have either intimidated or pissed him off earlier when he tried to strike up conversation with me. After I told him I would be filling in for that other pilot, I, in no uncertain terms, told him that he would be wise not to fuck with me during this flight. He hadn't said a word since. If he only knew that in less than four hours his life would cease to exist…

"Hi Captain, sorry I'm late. We are ready to take off whenever you get the OK."

I recognized that soft voice. She was the woman from a surveillance flight I took a few days ago; all sweetness and innocence. She irritated me to no end. I wouldn't mourn her loss. In fact, I would delight in destroying that sweetness before the day was done.

She stood there with an expectant look, so I plastered on a fake smile and welcomed her on board. I told her we should be getting ready to taxi to the runway shortly. She nodded her head and smiled before turning to leave and closed the cockpit door behind her.

This flight might be more interesting than I originally thought.

**EPOV**

We had been in the air for a little over an hour and a half. Bella and the other flight attendant had long since served snacks and refreshments. I kept my eye on her, but otherwise I said nothing and didn't so much as speak to her. She didn't try to speak to me or Emmett either, which surprised and relieved me.

I glanced down at my wrist watch. To anyone who looked, it might seem that I was checking the time. In reality, I was looking at the small built in compass underneath the clock hands. We were headed southeast, which was the desired direction. So far, nothing was out of the ordinary.

The woman four seats in front of me hadn't made a move and I hoped she remained that way. From my vantage point, her body was obscured and I could only see the very top of her hair.

I glanced around again in hopes of picking up something, anything that looked out of place. This was a B767-300 aircraft and it had multiple small televisions that lowered upon reaching 10,000 feet. Many of the passengers had their headphones on and were watching whatever movie was playing. I casually stood up from my seat and started walking toward the front of the cabin and then back to my seat as someone who was stretching their legs might do.

In two minutes, I leisurely walked up and down the aisle and made observations on every passenger in the coach cabin. I looked no one in the face directly. Three quarters of passengers seemed to be engaged in the in-flight movie. For the remaining passengers, six were reading books, four were listening to their MP3 players, another four passengers were on their laptops – one played solitaire, two worked on work reports, and another watched his own movie. Emmett casually flipped through the complimentary airline magazine. He didn't turn his head to look at me, but he saw me approaching from his peripheral vision. Three passengers appeared to be sleeping, and another two just stared ahead into space. One of those two passengers was a woman in her late forties that looked extremely sad and as if she had been crying recently. The other was the redhead that I was keeping my eye on.

It did not sit well with me that a potentially dangerous woman was sitting there looking out of place. It almost appeared as if she were waiting for something, but what I could not be sure of. I never made direct eye contact with her; I didn't even look in her direction. But her eyes briefly shot in my direction and I would swear they narrowed slightly before returning to their original position.

I walked past the redhead and headed directly to the back of the plane. I tried to convince myself it was all part of my cover. In reality, I was walking to the back of the plane because I knew that Bella would be there.

I had not seen much of her, and I wanted to confirm that she was all right. As I neared the very back of the plane, I noticed that someone was in the restroom, so I stood to the side of it, closest to the galley, as if waiting for my turn. I could hear Bella less than three feet away from me talking with the other attendant.

"Girl, what is wrong? You've seemed tense today."

Bella sighed before answering in a hushed voice, "I don't know, Nia. Does it bother you at all that there are two air marshals on this flight? I mean, isn't that abnormal?"

"Wait. There are AMs on this flight? How come I didn't know about it? Normally the captain lets all of us know. Did he tell you?"

Now I was truly curious. Was Bella going to say how she knew me? Did the Captain tell her we were on board and if not, why wouldn't he think it important to notify the rest of the crew? Just as Bella started to answer the door opened to the tiny restroom and a kid stepped out. The noise that he made opening the sliding door caused me to miss most of her answer. I caught the tail end of her response.

"… friend of a friend type of thing a couple of days ago." I was glad she understood my need to keep our relationship quiet, but it still didn't answer the question about the pilot.

"So maybe it is nothing then. Stop stressing. If you didn't hear anything from him, then it probably isn't an issue. They might just be traveling somewhere for vacation."

The pilot didn't say anything after all. That didn't sit well with me. I was certain that someone would have contacted him before takeoff to alert him of our presence.

I tried to think back to what the pilot looked like. When the crew walked in there was one male, who I had recognized from a few days ago and two women. Bella obviously was the third flight attendant, but who was the second pilot? Was the missing guy a pilot or co-pilot? I was certain that I had not noticed another person with them when they walked up. That could mean that he was already on board or he came while my head was turned and I didn't notice him.

An uneasy feeling settled back into my stomach. If James was on this flight and he was the pilot, it would explain why I hadn't noticed anyone remotely resembling him. Worse, he would know that Emmett and I were on this flight. I must have been standing there contemplating longer than I realized, because soon the woman that Bella was speaking to came out of the back galley and looked at me. I was standing by a bathroom that no one was occupying.

"Just stretching my legs," I mumbled.

She smiled in return and said, "No problem, Sir." She began to walk down the aisle with a plastic bag for collecting cups and trash.

When no one was looking and I was sure the woman in seat 44C hadn't moved, I swiftly stepped into the back galley with Bella and out of sight. She had just finished hitting a button on the coffee maker to brew another pot of coffee when she turned and saw me.

Bella's face turned to panic and then fear before she realized it was me and let out a shaky breath. "Edward! You nearly gave me a heart attack. I'm on edge enough without you scaring the living daylights out of me!"

I placed my right hand on her shoulder and pressed my cheek to Bella's. My other hand went to her hip and I shifted our position so I could see behind her in case anyone walked up on us. Her arms immediately circled my waist. I whispered in her ear. "I'm very sorry for scaring you, but you have to listen to me. There is a very real chance that this flight is in danger."

Her body tensed up immediately at my words, but she remained silent and nodded her head for me to continue. "I haven't been able to acknowledge you as anything but a stranger because if something does happen, and you are connected to me in any way, you would most likely be a target. I cannot let that happen."

Releasing my hand from her hip, I wrapped my arm around her back and squeezed our bodies together in attempt to hug her body as close as possible. My thumb stroked the cheek it was pressed against.

"I'm putting us at risk now. I've been fighting with myself for damn near two hours because I can't stand the thought of something happening to you and me possibly being able to prevent it by telling you what I know."

"What's going on Edward?" Her voice shook, and I wished I could see her face.

"I think there may be two people on board that are planning to hijack the plane."

She gasped. I pulled my head back slightly to look at her face, our bodies still touching. "Know that I will do everything in my power to keep you safe, even if that means I'm in danger."

"I can help." She looked determined.

I shook my head. "No. I won't put you in harm's way."

"I'm not helpless, Edward. I can help. I can get messages between you and Emmett. I know this plane like the back of my hand. I can help you –" I placed my finger on her lips to silence her.

"I don't want to involve you if I can help it. Thank you, though. If I need something done that's not risky, I will let you know. Okay?"

She frowned a bit, but nodded. "I'm serious. Let me help."

"If I need you, I'll let you know." I thought for a moment. She could help me. "In fact, can you do something for me?" I asked in a low voice.

"Of course, anything at all." Her body relaxed a bit.

"I need you to discreetly pass a note to Emmett that says the pilot is questionable."

"Oh God! It's possible. I've never flown with this guy before and he was a bit creepy."

"Bella, this is important. Tell me, what did he look like?"

Comprehension washed over her as she whispered, "Are you on this flight looking for him in particular?"

I nodded. "Maybe, what did he look like?"

"Long blond hair, pulled into a ponytail, brown eyes, slender face and slim build. He was clean shaven and had a couple of piercings in his ear." She stared off into space as she called out his features.

I was impressed she could describe him so well after only having seen him right before taking off. I could connect the piercings and potentially the hair, but everything else was questionable since I saw multiple photos and disguises. I would have to see him to know for sure. There had to be something else.

"Think hard and tell me if you noticed anything he was wearing that stood out."

Her eyes squinted in thought. "He wore a black leather wrist band with some kind of writing on it. It peeked out of his sleeve."

I released my hold on her and stepped back. "You just confirmed it for me. This is the flight he chose."

For a moment I felt as if the world was crashing down on me. This might be it, the end. And Bella, my sweet, beautiful Bella was on this God forsaken flight. I had to do something. This would not be our end. We'd just found each other and I'd be damned if this would be the end.

Determination swelled in me. "I need to change the message for Emmett. Write 'J is pilot, V is 44C – Be ready'."

Just then the other attendant came walking up into view with a bag full of trash.

"Thank you for the extra bag of pretzels." I forced myself to smile slightly at Bella who looked slightly ill and nodded at Nia. I shuffled past the two attendants in the small space and turned to walk down the aisle to my seat. As soon as I had a good view of the cabin, I noticed something off. It was Victoria. Instead of looking directly ahead like she had been for the first couple of hours of the flight, she now was alternating glances at her watch and something or someone in the front of the cabin.

I hurriedly took my seat, quietly, in case she decided to look back. I didn't want it to be apparent I had been out of my seat for as long as I had.

I hadn't been sitting down longer than ten minutes before I heard Bella and Nia wheel the drink cart down the aisle for the second round of drinks. Bella was in the back, pushing the cart toward the front to serve the front of the cabin first. Once she walked past me all I could see was the back of her body. She seemed to be normal, with no real signs of stress.

I alternated between watching Bella and watching Victoria. It was obvious to me that Victoria was planning something soon and I couldn't figure out what her role in all of this was. It gave me comfort to know that whatever she was planning, Emmett and I would be able to take her down easily. Even if she had superior fighting skills, it was doubtful that she alone could win against us.

The comfort I felt was short-lived. If James was flying the plane, he could set the direction he wanted, and was practically untouchable. Those cockpit doors were bulletproof and could only be opened from the inside. And, if Victoria was not planning on trying to fight, whatever she was planning was much more lethal. And did she know that we were on the flight? If she was connected with James, it was a strong possibility.

Bella and her co-worker were about halfway down the aisle now and had already passed Emmett. He was sitting a little straighter, so I knew he must have received Bella's note.

Victoria stood up before the drink service could reach her section. Bella's back was facing her not too far away and for a moment I worried that she would try something then. I was just about ready to leap up and tackle her when I saw her reach up, open the overhead bin and grab a bag.

She removed it, closing the bin above the seat and headed back toward the bathroom. She didn't look in my direction as she walked past.

This game of chess was getting tiresome. I was trying to guess her next move and it was near impossible. What was in that bag? I could stand up and stop her, demand she show me what was in the bag and give away my cover. If it was just her, that wouldn't be such a problem. But if she was not alone and had someone else on here helping her, it could potentially be disastrous. I wouldn't do anything with Bella standing in the line of fire. Airport security was tight enough to know if there was a bomb, so I doubted that would be an issue. If she was getting firearm or blades ready, I could resolve those advances quickly.

I glanced at my watch. It read 12:23. All I could do was watch the clock.

Bella was now in my section, taking drink orders from someone in the row ahead of mine. After she finished with them she turned to me and the person sitting a seat over from me.

"What would you like to drink?"

We both ordered bottled water. She wrapped a small napkin under each bottle handing them to us and turned across the aisle to keep working.

When I set my bottle down, I noticed writing on the napkin through the clear bottle.

_I am texting HQ now. I'm ready_

I'm glad Emmett thought about it. We would need all the government help we could get. They might be able to force James' hand since they could radio him up front. Or, they might try a different tactic to not let him know that he's been found out. My hope was that whatever their decision, they acted fast.

It wasn't until all the drinks had been served that Victoria made it back to her seat. She no longer carried the bag with her. I glanced at my watch again, 12:41. If I had been wrong before, eighteen minutes was plenty of time to set up a bomb. My heart accelerated. Bella was back there with a potential bomb.

Victoria was sitting; I doubted it would go off any time soon. But I could, in no way, allow a bomb to be on board and not try to stop it. I certainly couldn't allow Bella to be so close to it. I got up from my seat to clear Bella and her co-worker from the galley. The seats in the very back were empty, so I wouldn't need to alert any passengers quite yet. I needed to know for sure before I caused wide-spread panic.

I had taken two steps toward the back when all of a sudden loud popping noises sounded and sparks flew in every direction. Smoke immediately began to permeate the cabin.

Several screams filled the plane, but I had no time to check what was going on behind me. I flew ahead into the sparks as fast as possible and dove into the galley. Bella and Nia were crouched down covering their heads with their arms.

"Are you ok?" I screamed at them, my eyes on Bella alone.

"What was that?!" Bella didn't ask the question, it came from her left.

I turned my head and toward Nia but kept my eyes on Bella, "I think it was a smoke bomb, designed to make a lot of noise. Are you both ok?" I repeated my question.

Bella was shaking, but nodded her head. I heard a "yeah" come from Nia before she erupted in coughs.

"You two need to get towards the front of the plane to keep people calm. I also think there may be more than this smoke bomb back here, so you have to move now, while I try to locate anything else back here."

At the mention that there may be another bomb back here, both quickly stood up and made a move to leave. Only Bella turned back. I was about to protest but she opened a compartment and got a fire extinguisher out. I took it from her grip.

I followed closely behind them to survey what was going on. Those who were closer to the back of the plane had moved forward. Everyone was looking towards the back of the plane in fear. I quickly put out the small sparks that were remaining; however, the smoke was still thick in the air. I tossed the extinguisher onto a nearby seat and walked forward.

In all of the commotion, I made a cardinal mistake. I took my eyes off of the target. Victoria was no longer in her seat. She was smart. She created a diversion to allow her time to make it to James. I pushed forward and saw through the now open curtain that earlier separated the first class cabin Emmett holding on to someone that was struggling in his grasp. I was thankful he kept his focus.

I had to work past Bella and the two other flight attendants trying to calm the passengers, reassuring them that everything would be ok and not to panic. Many of them were dazed, fearful and not in their seats. A few surrounded the emergency exits, but didn't dare open them so high up in the air.

By the time I finally made my way up to Emmett and Victoria they were in the front galley near the cockpit door. I quickly withdrew my .9 mm from the holster on my calf and pointed it at Victoria's head.

Emmett's face was fierce as he questioned the woman. "And just where did you think you were going after pulling that little stunt back there?"

The woman narrowed her eyes to small slits. "If I were you, I would let me go."

"It's a good thing I'm not you. Crazy bitch isn't my style."

"I have a bomb hidden on board and I control it with this phone. If you do not let me go I will detonate it. This time I guarantee it won't just be smoke" Her voice was low and menacing.

Sure enough, in her hands was holding a small, plain, black phone. Her finger hovered over the send button. Emmett must have noticed my line of sight and soon noticed the phone as well.

"You could be bluffing," I said.

Her eyes shifted to me and then my gun. "Would you like to find out? I will blow this plane up with the push of the button. If I die, you all die. "

The plane that had just been deathly silent, with exception to a child crying in the background and our verbal exchange, filled up with people yelling.

"Let her go! We might have a chance."

"Don't do it, it could be a trick!"

"Shoot her already!"

"I'm too young to die, I haven't even gone to Paris yet…"

I felt someone come up behind me, but didn't turn to see who it was.

Emmett looked to be in an internal debate, but I knew that she wasn't bluffing. "Let her go."

He looked at me with a conflicted expression, but slowly released his grip on her. She pushed back from him and smoothed out her clothes. "Wise decision."

With that, she knocked five times in a mixture of slow and fast intervals between each knock. It took four seconds for the door to open revealing James with a sadistic look on his face. He looked at something over my shoulder and smiled. Before I knew what was happening, he rushed at me.

I got in my blocking stance, ready to throw a punch. We were trained to avoid firing our weapons if at all possible. In a space so tightly confined, a bullet could easily hit an innocent bystander or puncture the side of the plane causing a loss in pressure and the plane to crash. I connected my fist with his right cheekbone. He surprised me by taking it in stride and pushing his body weight against me to knock me into Emmett's side, causing us both to lose our footing. He grabbed someone behind me and pulled them back into the cockpit door that Victoria had already gone through.

"Edward!" It was Bella. Her voice cracked with fear. I leapt forward to try to catch the door before it closed. I was a second too late, because at the moment my hand reached the door it shut, automatically locking behind them.

I banged the butt of my gun against the door, yelling for them to open up. It was a futile attempt, but I couldn't stop myself. Emmett had to place a hand on my shoulder to calm me.

James had Bella. He had wanted her bad enough to come out of the safety of the cockpit. I flashed back to the first flight and how he looked at her. It made me sick to my stomach to think of why he would want her in there. And now he knew that we were connected because of me, because of my error.

"We'll get her back, Bro."

My only response was to look at him with anguished eyes.

"We'll get her back." This time Emmett said it more sternly.

"We can't get in, how are we going to get her back?" Anger laced my voice, though I could be mad at no one but myself.

"We'll figure it out. Believe me when I say that. Now, you have to pull it together so we can find the bomb and deactivate it."

He was right, but being any further away from Bella right now was not possible. "You'll have to search. She had a black bag, look for that somewhere at the back of the plane, behind the last seats or maybe in a compartment near the restrooms. I have to stay here in case I get an opening."

He nodded his head and turned toward Nia. "I'll need your help, is that alright?"

She quickly gave her consent and followed him toward the back of the aircraft. I did not need to say be careful. He was trained and knew how to handle a bomb should he come across one.

Just as I tried to press my ear against the cockpit door to see if I could hear anything I heard a muffled slap and groan.

Rage filled my body. If they hurt one hair on her body, I would kill them.

I tried to wrack my brain for a game plan to get her out of there, when my thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the intercom system.

"Ladies and Gentleman." James' sardonic voice began. "It would appear that we have a situation taking place on board flight 2804." He paused for a dramatic effect. "This plane is going to blow up."

People were crying more loudly now, but no one said anything.

"You all are going to die within the next forty-five minutes. Notice I said you and not we. I, along with my favorite girl, will be long gone by the time you all reach your final destination and go 'kaboom'. However, I plan to have a little fun before I depart. Edward is it? I will enjoy what I'm about to do to your precious… ah, yes. Bella. Very stunning, this one is. I might keep this ID badge for my personal collection to reminisce with later."

My blood boiled and I felt sick. Bella was defenseless and the very thing I was so scared of happening, was now a reality. I just stood there frozen at the door feeling more helpless than I ever have before.

"Say goodbye, sweet Bella."

My heart stopped at the next thing I heard, Bella's scream followed by a gunshot.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: **I am so so SO sorry to have left you all on that cliffie for that long! It was never my intention to do that. By now I am sure you all are tired of my excuses, but believe me, if I could have had this chapter up any sooner, I would have.

I cannot thank you enough for all of the fantastic reviews last chapter. They had me so excited throughout the entire holidays. You have no idea. I'd like to say thanks to Kamce who started a thread on the forums for this story. Her story, 'lowering the wall' is amazing. All of you ladies who have stopped by there have been wonderful. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement. You should stop by and join the fun.

As always, thanks to my Beta Limona. Thank you so much for all of the help and I hope you're feeling better! If you find mistakes it's because I was impatient to get it to you guys and didn't wait for her second review.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

*Please be sure to read the AN at the bottom for an announcement… Now, on to the show.

Previously on Flight 2804…

"_Ladies and Gentleman." James' sardonic voice began. "It would appear that we have a situation taking place on board flight 2804." He paused for a dramatic effect. "This plane is going to blow up."_

_People were crying more loudly now, but no one said anything._

"_You all are going to die within the next forty-five minutes. Notice I said you and not we. I, along with my favorite girl, will be long gone by the time you all reach your final destination and go 'kaboom'. However, I plan to have a little fun before I depart. Edward is it? I will enjoy what I'm about to do to your precious… ah, yes. Bella. Very stunning, this one is. I might keep this ID badge for my personal collection to reminisce with later."_

_My blood boiled and I felt sick. Bella was defenseless, and the very thing I was so scared of happening, was now a reality. I just stood there frozen at the door feeling more helpless than I ever had before._

"_Say goodbye, sweet Bella."_

_My heart stopped at the next thing I heard: Bella's scream followed by a gunshot._

**Seattle Federal Aviation Administration Headquarters – 12:15 pm**

**Chief Fason POV **

To say I was tense would be an understatement. Today was the day that James would most likely make his move to strike against our government. Every major city in the United States was on high alert and had all of their air marshals out on surveillance today, yet I worried that it might not be enough.

James' plan had been carefully thought out and he most likely would have succeeded if not for Agent Masen happening upon him Thursday. If James was able to pull off his plan today, then our nation will take a long time to recover from it. We did not have enough information at this point to know in which direction we should act.

The fact that a single source was directly responsible for this vile act versus a terrorist organization would send the message to the world that our national security was not as superior as perceived. If this attack succeeded, I wouldn't be surprised if higher authorities chose to cover it up to make it seem as if it were the doings of an actual organization. If they connected it to the Volturi, we might find ourselves at war with them. Our country couldn't afford another war right now, especially not one based on a falsehood.

Before I could continue down this train of thought, my cell phone beeped. I knew that a message had come through, so I removed it from the clip on my belt. My already tense muscles tightened, and my back became ramrod straight as I read who it was from.

_Message from: Agent E. McCarty _

_Flight 2804 has been compromised. James is pilot. Victoria is passenger. Most likely aware we are on board. Maintaining recommended coordinates to NY. Need help._

I was out of my seat and walking toward the door immediately. This was worse than I imagined. James had somehow managed to become the pilot of this plane and had an advantage. No one could get to him. I'm not sure of what part the woman was playing in all of this, but there no doubt was a part. This information needed to be shared with the FBI and we had to find a way to take James' advantage away. I'd lost a man out in the field before, and I would do everything in my power not to let that happen again.

I passed through the threshold of my office and briskly walked down the hall towards out Data and Intel specialists. Our D.I. Specialists were located on the same floor as me so that we could easily access each other in emergency situations. Their help would be crucial in facilitating the aid of my guys on that plane.

Agent McCarty was scheduled to be in route to New York right now with Agent Masen. I knew that if we had received communication from one of them while they were still up in the air, that there was a situation on board.

I swiftly walked into the D.I. room letting my presence be known and quickly got the attention of the six specialists in sight. "Give me any and all details you can pull up on Sky Jet flight 2804. I need to know what timing we are working with. Nobody is to stand around being idle, now move!" I barked out.

I turned my back to the group and again removed the phone that was clipped onto my belt. I scrolled my contact list until I reached the desired number and connected the call. Two rings later it picked up.

"Hodge."

"Nicole, this is Chief Fason. James and Victoria have been located."

"What are the specifics?"

I scanned down the print off that I read the message from a moment ago. "All I know right now is that this is Sky Jet Airlines, flight 2804. Seattle to New York. Left at ten o'clock this morning. It's been in the air for…" I quickly glance at my watch again, "approximately two and a half hours out of five." I continued on to recite the message word for word.

"You have got to be shitting me. I didn't think the bastard would be able to pull that off." Agent Hodge had a reputation for being hardcore, but was one of the very best. She was no stranger to tough situations and always came out victorious, even if she acquired a few battle wounds along the way. "They are probably going to try to divert the flight course toward Washington, DC. We need to alert the national control tower of this situation and the President. Have your team contact the control tower and I will get a hold of the Secretary of Defense. He will tell us how to proceed with the President."

"I'm on it. Time is of the essence. Let's report back in twenty minutes. Can you come down to headquarters?"

"I'm already on the way. See you in twenty."

We disconnected the line and I turned back around. "Listen up people, who is currently working on getting me the flight info?"

Three of the eleven people in the room raised their hands. "Good, I want you -" I pointed to one guy who had not raised his hand, "to contact the NCT and let them know that we have a situation unfolding in the air." He nodded his head, turned around and immediately began to dial the National Control Tower.

I looked at the three that raised their hands before. "You three, give me what you've found out about the flight."

Jordan, one of our more talented specialists, spoke up first. "I linked into the aircrafts internal navigational system and discovered that the flight has started to deviate off course, Sir."

I nodded my head and prompted her to keep going.

" Its coordinates indicate that they are headed Southwest. Also the recorded speed is coming in at over 700 mph. Normally, aircrafts this large travel at speeds of 500 to 600 mph. The aircrafts altitude readout shows that they are flying at about 25,000 ft. It's historical data showed that an hour ago it was at 40,000 ft, thirty minutes ago it was 32,000 ft."

They seemed to be steadily getting lower and faster. "What is their ETA for reaching the white house?" I was worried that my original time frame for getting help to Masen and McCarty was becoming shorter.

"Estimated time it will take for the flight to reach DC at current speed, altitude and direction will be approximately 49 minutes. Give or take 15-30 seconds."

Less than an hour. We had less than an hour to give them support in the air. We had to move now. Without waiting to hear what the other two analysts found out, I turned towards my guy talking to NCT. "Jones, have you gotten through?"

"Yes, Sir. They have them tracked on their screen and are waiting for direction from us on whether to contact them or not."

"All right, tell them they will have an answer in five minutes or less." I glanced at my watch. 12:42 pm.

My phone rang just as I began to call Agent Hodge again. I answered. "Fason."

"Chief, it's Hodge and I have General Wilson on the line. Do you have any new data?"

General Wilson was our current Secretary of Defense. I told them all of the information I had just learned. "General, the NCT is waiting for some instruction, Sir. We need to know how to proceed now."

"Given our short window of time, do not have them do anything outside of their normal protocol for a flight that strays off of its course. I do not want the hijackers to know that we know as much as we do. I will send for a Raptor fighter jet to depart from Detroit, MI. It will be able to intercept the Sky Jet plane within minutes of becoming airborne."

"With all due respect, Sir, what are you planning to do with that fighter jet?" If the General was planning to shoot down the plane to keep it from hitting its target of the white house, then I would have to would have to insist on another plan of action.

"It's not what you think Fason. At best we only serve to intimidate them in to giving up control of the plane. If that does not work, then the Raptor is able to zero in on a target with 1 cm of accuracy from a 100 mile distance. We can take the hijackers out but only if we know someone else can enter the cockpit and fly. This is where your men come in. This plan requires someone with the ability to fly the plane."

"My men are licensed pilots, Sir. They will be able to fly if able to navigate the plane to safety." I interjected.

"It will not be a simple task. They will have to find a way in. In this situation, whoever is able to fly the plane to a safe emergency landing will need to be prepared for a lot of air in the cockpit. In order to terminate whoever is controlling the plane, the windshield will need to be penetrated. It may stay fairly intact, it may not."

This sounded impossible. "So let me get this straight. You will have a fighter jet travel to intercept a plane traveling at 700 mph. Once the plane comes into the 100 mile range, it will shoot one or both of the targets before getting out of its path. This will cause extremely risky conditions for anyone who may or may not be able to get into the cockpit?" Disbelief laced my voice.

"That is correct. It can be done. The jet is already in route."

"Sir, what happens if my men cannot gain entry into the cockpit or this plan is not successful?"

"We will have no choice but to extinguish the threat. We will have to terminate the flight in a safe zone so as to not hurt any innocent people other than those who are on board." His voice was tight. He obviously didn't like this option any more than I.

"There must be another way. Is there a way to control the plane via manipulation of the navigational system?"

"You know the answer to that as well as I do Chief. We can monitor data, but we haven't had the budget available to equip all commercial aircrafts with emergency remote operational control."

I opened my mouth to respond, but Agent Hodge spoke up instead. I was so engrossed in my discussion with the General that I forgot she was on the line. "Chief, we do not have the time to second guess this plan of action. If we do not do something within the next 35 minutes, everyone dies anyway. I've arrived at headquarters and am on my way up. General, we will report back the moment we have any new information."

She effectively dismissed the conversation and disconnected the line. More than a little put off that my men were faced with such a difficult task I turned toward Jordan.

"Jordan, we need to get a message out to McCarty." I began dictating the contents of the message when the beep of my phone interrupted me.

I opened the message to reveal another message from Agent McCarty. It read:

_James and Victoria are both inside cockpit with two hostages. Co-captain and flight attendant. Shot sounded, most likely one casualty. Bomb on board. No way inside. Need help._

"Chief, what is it?" Agent Hodge came up beside me.

"You should read this for yourself and then contact the general back immediately." I passed her the phone.

She quickly read it, passed the phone back to me and called the General back, conveying the latest turn in events. After a short discussion she turned to me. We need to reply back to your man. He needs to be aware of what is going on."

"We were drafting a message when his second one came in. We'll finish it now." With my attention back on the response message to McCarty, we hurriedly completed the message. Jordan typed it up and sent it his phone. Our response was:

_Help is coming. Fighter jet will reach you in 10 minutes. Will eliminate targets in cockpit. Is bomb disarmed? You will need to find a way to enter cockpit and emergency land. Preparations are being made to bring down the entire flight if situation not in control within 20 min. Report back ASAP. Good luck._

Another glance at my watch revealed we had exactly 30 minutes until the plane was estimated to hit its target of the White House and 20 minutes until we would be forced to sentence everyone on board to death. For the first time ever, I prayed while at work. I prayed for my men, I prayed for the poor unfortunate souls who had to die a senseless death, I prayed for the families of those on board and I prayed that McCarty and Masen would get the flight back in our control.

_Please let them get control._

**EPOV**

Everything went eerily quiet. The only sound was the hum of the plane's engines as they propelled us further east. Nothing could be heard from cockpit and nothing could be heard from anywhere behind me. It was almost as if no one dared to breathe.

I stood rooted to my spot in front of the cockpit door. I looked at the faded blue fabric that covered the wall and tried to focus on it to keep myself from falling apart. My Bella was in there and when she needed me the most, I had failed her. I failed her. This was my fault. A sharp pain hit me in my chest and traveled throughout my body.

I tried to convince myself that she may not be dead; that perhaps she was just shot in the arm. But, that didn't seem likely, nor did it make me feel any better if that were the case. If she were alive she would have been making some noise, whether it was screaming, banging the door or just something to let me know she was alive. Instead, there was nothing.

Guilt and despair raked through my body. It was uncertain how long I stood there, but next thing I knew a familiar hand touched my shoulder. "Edward," his voice was more somber than I had ever heard it before. "Edward, she might be alright, man."

"Stop Emmett. I don't want to hear it." My voice came out strangled. The last thing I wanted or needed was false hope. I knew that she was not alright.

"Listen, I can't imagine what you are feeling right now. God knows if it were Rosie in there, I don't know what I would do…" I glanced at him and saw him shudder briefly. He recovered and looked me in the eye. "You going to be OK, man?"

For a brief moment, I allowed myself to look behind him to the rest of the plane. Most people were looking at the scene in front of them between Em and me scared and hopeful. Those who were with their families were looking at each other with a mixture of fright, hope and love. I had to do what I could to protect the innocent lives on board. It was what I was trained to do and it was what Bella would have wanted me to do.

Almost mechanically I said, "We need to find a way in there and we have to protect the rest of this flight." I had to make up for the fact that I was unable to protect the one person I wanted to protect the most. I could not afford to break down now

Emmett patted my back before saying, "It's good to have you back. Now let's talk strategy."

"Did you find the bomb?" That was the most pressing thing at this moment. We would have to disarm it if any of us had a chance at survival.

"We were still searching when I heard that punk come on. I came back up here to check on you." He looked a little sheepish. I wasn't sure if it was because he inadvertently mentioned what just took place in the cockpit or if it was because he abandoned his job to check on me.

"We've got to find it now. Let's see if a few of the men on board won't mind helping us look." Emmett nodded his head in agreement. He was about to say something when his phone vibrated and lit up.

He grabbed it and began pressing buttons. "That's probably Headquarters. I sent a second message to them a couple of minutes ago requesting help." He frowned as he read through it. Suddenly his body posture went rigid.

"What? They can't send reinforcements to us?" Slightly alarmed at the change in his demeanor.

"Worse." He tossed the phone to me. I read the message.

_Help is coming. Fighter jet will reach you in 10 minutes. Will eliminate targets in cockpit. Is bomb disarmed? You will need to find a way to enter cockpit and emergency land. Preparations are being made to bring down the entire flight if situation not in control within 20 min. Report back ASAP. Good luck._

Luck was most definitely not on our side and neither was time. With hardened eyes, I looked at Emmett. "Let's find that bomb."

**AN**: This chapter was a little short. I promise next chapter will be longer and that you will finally know what is going on in the cockpit and the rest of the flight. This was important for you guys to know though. Please review to let me know what you think.

Announcement – If you haven't heard about it yet, there is a new twilight fanfiction award site. It's called the Eddie and Bellie awards. Please nominate your favorite fanfics out there for the awards. Nominations end on Jan. 25th and then voting will begin shortly thereafter. Get out and nominate! The address is www(dot)thecatt(dot)net.

Until next time…


	9. Chapter 9

**AN**: As always, thank you to Limona for taking time out of your busy schedule to look over and improve this chapter for me. You truly are appreciated!

So how crazy is it that I worked on the first 5 pages of this chapter while in the air on a plane?? LOL. I just couldn't sit there not writing seeing as how it was playing in my mind nonstop. Unfortunately that was about a month ago. I am extremely apologetic about how long it has taken to get this story out to you all. I know you all have been anxious to find out what has happened with Bella and how this flight will turn out. I've been awful for not getting this out faster, but in my defense, life has been crazy and I truly have not had the time before now. I give my sincerest thanks to those of you who check this story frequently for updates, to those of you who have contacted me to tell me I was taking too long, and to those of you who continue to stick with me even though I have become one of "those" authors who take entirely too long to update. Thank you.

***** Something to note about this chapter is that I had to rewind time a bit after the first POV. It was unavoidable unless I wanted to do majority of the second POV in flashback mode. After that, all POV's are synchronized and in real time.

Disclaimer: As always, Twilight does not belong to me. Never has and never will.

Ch. 9

**BPOV**

Darkness was the only thing I could sense for an unknown amount of time. My mind was foggy and I had no idea where I was or what brought me here. All I knew was that I had been here in this dark place for too long and I was ready to escape.

A slow, steady thump began to beat right near my head. It took a moment for me to realize that it was my heartbeat. I focused on it and felt a surge of accomplishment as it started to accelerate. The faint sound of voices was nearby. Anxious to be out of this black hole, I struggled to regain consciousness focusing on my breathing. As I took small, shallow breaths in and out through my nose, I recognized the scent of blood. My stomach to turned over. The smell was overpowering. Was it my blood?

I once again tried to focus, but this time not so much on breathing, but rather the voices that had become clearer. A smooth, sinister male voice – the fake pilot – spoke in an aggravated whisper that sent chills down my spine.

"I already told you that I wasn't through with her yet. I'm not going to kill her until I've had my fun."

An equally aggravated female voice quickly responded, "This is not a part of the plan James. We don't have time for this shit. We need to set the automatic pilot and get the hell out of here."

That was all I needed to hear before everything that had taken place leading up to now hit me full force.

_Flashback: _

_The passengers were in a panic about the apparent fire in the back of the plane. Nia, the other flight attendant, stayed with them to calm them down while I went to the front to see what was happening with Edward and Emmett. _

_Edward and Emmett were holding the woman from seat 44C, but then they let her__go. She knocked on the cockpit door and kept her back to it while facing the guys. She had a device in her hands that she kept pointing at both of them. I didn't know what it was, but it was enough to stop both Edward and Emmett in their tracks. _

_The cockpit door flew open to reveal the fraudulent pilot. Time moved in slow motion. The pilot's eyes connected with mine and he gave me a sickening smirk. My mind screamed for me to turn around and run. Before I could do anything, the pilot knocked Edward to the side forcefully and grabbed my forearm. _

_I was pulled into the cockpit so quickly that I barely had time to turn my head and let out a scream for help. I locked gazes with Edward's for a split second before the door was slammed and locked into place. _

_The cockpit was an extremely tight space and I was only able to get out three small kicks and as many screams before I felt someone's hand painfully slap my face. Angered and more than a little scared, I turned my eyes toward the culprit. It wasn't the man because he stood behind me and held my arms together so that I couldn't use them. The woman stood before me with a look of disdain. _

"_Make one more noise and I'll kill you without hesitation." As if to prove her point, she pointed a gun directly to my temple._

_The cockpit door shook as Edward pounded on it from the other side, yelling for us to open the door. I didn't dare make a noise. _

"_Here, Victoria, take her and make sure she doesn't get any funny ideas. Give me the gun."_

_I was shoved at the woman I now knew as Victoria. Victoria stood with her back to the door, her hand wrapped tightly around my neck. That left me standing, hunched awkwardly in acramped space between the door and the captain's seat. _

_That was when I saw Mike. He saw me, too, and on his face I read fear, guilt, and sorrow._

_Just then the so-called captain picked up the intercom system and began to speak. "Ladies and Gentlemen… it would appear we have a situation taking place on board flight 2804." He looked me square in the eye and smirked. _

"_This plane is going to blow up."_

_My eyes widened with fear. I quickly looked back over to Mike. He looked just as horror stricken as I felt. _

"_You all are going to die within the next forty-five minutes. Notice I said you and not we. I, along with my favorite girl, will be long gone by the time you all reach your final destination and go 'kaboom'. However, I plan to have a little fun before I depart. Edward is it? I will enjoy what I'm about to do to your precious…" _

_He reached out and grabbed the Sky Jet badge that hung around my neck. I shrunk away from his hand to keep him from touching me. "Ah, yes. Bella. Very stunning, this one is. I might keep this ID badge for my personal collection to reminisce with later."_

_In my peripheral I noticed Mike's arm twitch a little. _

"_Say goodbye, my sweet Bella." _

_The psycho pointed the gun at me. My heart didn't skip a beat or pound wildly in my chest. Rather, I felt a blanket of calm wash over me and my eyes closed. I accepted that this would be my end. Images of the people I loved most flashed through my head: Edward, my family, Angela, Jake… _

_Suddenly he wasn't pointing the gun at me anymore. While my eyes were closed, Mike had jumped from his co-pilot seat in an attempt to knock away the gun. The gun was trained on Mike. I screamed.. And then he shot him. One clean shot right through the heart. Mike's body flew backwards into the side window with the force of the bullet's impact. His eyes widened in fear and surprise before they went dim. Mike's body slumped and blood poured from his chest wound._

_I blacked out._

Now that I remembered the reason I was lying here on the floor, I wished that I could forget it all and go back into the safety of the dark. My heart clenchedat the memory. Not only had I known Mike, but I'd liked him as well. He might still be alive if not for me.

I was pulled out of my agonizing reverie by more bitter dialogue between James and Victoria.

"I won't allow you to jeopardize this job because of one of your stupid games." Her voice sounded clipped.

"Vicki, if you don't shut that talented little mouth of yours right now –"

"Oh for fuck's sake, James. Just give me the gun already and let me terminate her before she wakes up. I don't want to have to deal with more blood spatter from her struggling. I have enough on me from Joe over there."

My stomach felt a new wave of queasiness as I thought of all the possible places my blood might fly as they killed me.

James sounded downright ruthless as he snarled, "I said I was not done with her yet. Believe me when I tell you that if you say one more word to me about this little matter, you will _not_ be making it off of this plane with me."

An eerie silence followed, but Victoria didn't say anything else. Sheer panic traveled through my body. James had threatened his girlfriend like she was nobody to him. How could I possibly make it out of this alive? I couldn't very well do anything pretending to be unconscious and waiting around for death like a sitting duck. I had to devise a plan and soon.

Slowly and as slightly as possible, I opened my eyes a sliver. Through my eyelashes, I noticed I was lying on my left side, limbs splayed in awkward positions. Upon this realization, tingles erupted through my arms and legs. I supposed they fell asleep from being immobile for so long. My back was facing the door while the front of my body faced the cockpit.

James was seated in the captain's chair, and Victoria was in the co-captain chair. Mike's body was nowhere in evidence.

Neither of them was paying me any attention. This was the time to make a break, but how could I? Either James or Victoria surely had possession of the gun and in the time that it would take for me to stand up on legs that had fallen asleep, unlock the door and run out, one of them would shoot me dead.

I examined James and Victoria. Victoria's body looked tense. Her back was ramrod straight, she barely moved any of her muscles. James was slouched slightly in his seat, he periodically looked over his shoulder in my direction and even whistled a little tune. He hadn't noticed I was awake.

Sitting on a very small flat surface to the left of James was the gun. Hope flickered. Perhaps that would buy me a little time to make an escape.

Victoria looked at James and tersely asked, "Is it time?"

He nodded back and they both turned to look in my direction. I closed my eyes. I heard someone get up and my heart quickened with fear; was this the start of whatever it was James had in mind for me?

Whoever it was stopped right in front of me and I could hear a compartment opening. I wasn't sure who I would be more afraid of. They both wanted me dead, but at least it would be a quick death if it were Victoria.

I almost screamed when I felt a large, heavy object placed over my face. It felt like it was a canvas bag. I immediately knew what it was. They were getting ready to make their exit and were grabbing the only two parachutes on this plane.

The bag stayed pressed up against my face for a couple of minutes and breathing grew increasingly difficult. Just as I wondered if I would be forced to move in order to breathe, I heard the cabinet door close and the weight was lifted off of my face.

As soon as the bag was lifted I heard some type of commotion going on outside the small confines of the cockpit. Edward's voice rang out, though I could not understand what he was saying. I ached to yell to him, to tell him I was alive and needed help. I knew I couldn't though. Not yet at least.

"You have 10 minutes James, otherwise we blow up with the plane." Victoria stated.

"We'll make it. I'm about to start my little game now."

I heard some rustling and I chanced taking another peek to see what was going on. James and Victoria were picking up parachute backpacks and putting them on.

This was it. It was now or never. Adrenaline flooded my veins and I jumped up. I spun quickly to open the cockpit door but it was blocked by Mike's motionless body. He had been behind me the entire time.

_Fuck!_

"What the fuck?!" I could hear James yell behind me. I knew time was short and that in a matter of seconds he would grab the gun and kill me.

With strength I didn't know I had, I pulled the door open even with the dead weight added to the bottom of the steel framed door. I managed to make an opening large enough for me to run through and fled into the safety of the cabin. I heard the gun sound at the same instant I felt pain burst through my right shoulder.

I barreled out of the door tumbling forward when I heard my name being screamed. I was too focused on making it out of the cockpit and the pain pulsing through my arm to know who was calling for me or to respond. I dove toward the floor attempting to get out of the line of fire. I screamed in pain as my body collided with the floor.

**EPOV**

I glanced one last time at the door separating Bella and me before turning my attention back toward Emmett and those passengers near us. "I need all willing passengers to help us locate the bomb." My voice was hard and authoritative, but quiet to prevent it from filtering into the cockpit.

With a pointed look I continued, "We have less than 20 minutes to locate and disarm the bomb, otherwise we will all die. That is a guarantee."

Gasps and whimpers could be heard among the crowd, but all eyes were attentive and on me.

"We are looking for a black duffel bag that will be located in the rear of the plane. I believe that once we find that bag, we will have located our bomb. If you find a bag that looks out of place in any way, you call for me or my partner. We will come take it from there. Do not under any circumstance handle the bag. We are professionals and we don't want any of you getting hurt. I'm Edward and this is Emmett." I jabbed my thumb over to my right to indicate who Emmett was.

"We need ten people to help us search. Who can we count on?" Immediately almost every passenger within hearing distance threw their hands up.

I nodded into the crowd that had accumulated in front of us and expressed my thanks. Turning my body toward Emmett, I beckoned him to step closer to me.

"What's up man?" He asked me. His posture was tense and I knew he wanted to head to the back of the plane to try to locate the bomb.

"I have to stay up here to work on getting that door open, and I need to be here in case anything happens with –" He seemed to understand I was talking about Bella because he nodded his head in agreement.

"I'm with that. You man the post up here and I'll be back the moment we find that bag."

"Thanks."

With that Emmett turned quickly and rushed to the back of the plane.

I needed a way into the cockpit, so I started by examining the door where I assumed the hinges to the door to be. When the door opened, it would swing further into the cockpit. The aircraft manufacturers designed it that way to decrease the chances of an unwanted intruder being able to open it.

I slipped a credit card out of my wallet and slid it along the small space between the door and the frame and applied pressure in both directions. I hoped that there would be some give, but everything seemed sturdy.

Next I slid the card to the opposite side of the door with hopes of being able to slip the lock. This would require time and jiggling the door handle which would only alert them of my attempts to get in.

I weighed my options. If they knew I was trying to get in, would they get out of the plane that much sooner, detonating the bomb? That didn't seem too plausible because they wanted us to be with the vicinity of the White House when the plane exploded.

I could try to shoot at the door, but that would prove futile. These doors were reinforced to withstand heavy artillery and my 9 .mm would not penetrate it. That settled it; my best bet was to try to jam the lock to get in. It was a slim chance, but the best I had.

Just as I started to slither my card back and forth near the lock, I heard a commotion behind me.

"Edward! We located it and I'm bringing it up. Be ready!" Emmett yelled from the back. He carried the bag with both hands placed underneath it to keep it as steady as possible.

Emmett stopped about fifteen feet away from me and gently placed the bag down, opening it carefully. "It was inside of the trash compartment in the back galley."

I walked over to the bag and peered inside. It was your standard homemade hydrogen bomb. This bomb was small, extremely destructive and complicated to diffuse. .

If it were to go off before we had a chance to neutralize it, the whole plane, bodies included, would disintegrate and the only wreckage or debris they might find would be a couple of metal shards that survived the explosion.

The bomb was cased in a cylindrical metal housing and could be opened at two points. The key to opening it would be to apply equal parts pressure at either end simultaneously until the casing opened. Otherwise the unequal shift in weight would press upon one of the inner bags of fluid causing it to rupture and prematurely detonate. Removing the shell would prove to be difficult on a plane, but not impossible. After opening the outer case, we would then have to disconnect a series of electrical wires before we ensured that the thin layers of plastic that encased two highly explosive liquids side by side wouldn't rupture. If the fluids came in contact with one another in addition to the air, it would combust.

Emmett recognized what we were dealing with and immediately backed off. "You handle this one, Ed. This was one of the ones that I struggled with the most."

"God help us." I mumbled under my breath. "We have 8 minutes. I need 3 to handle this. You try to work the lock on the cockpit!" I passed Emmett my credit card.

"I'm on it, right after I notify headquarters that we have the bomb located." It was protocol and especially important in this situation for them to know that we were gaining some leverage.

I tuned out everything to concentrate on the bomb, lightly pulling the device out of the bag and setting it on a nearby seat for better stabilization. We sent the passengers to the back of the plane for safety.

I removed the metal casing and looked at the inner wiring. Emmett called out that the message was sent.

There wasn't enough time for me to respond before I heard a click and a shot ring out.

My hands faltered on the wire which with I was working and my head snapped toward the door. Bella ran out of the now open doorway, covered in blood and eyes wide with fear and concentration.

My heart nearly thumped out of my chest. I screamed out her name as she went crashing to the ground screaming in pain. I knew she was hit, but I had no idea where. I wasn't able to get to her without risking all of our lives; so I kept my focus on the instrumentation in front of me but kept looking out the corner of my eye on Bella who groaned in pain on the floor.

I called out to her. "Bella, baby? Look at me. I need to know how bad you're hurt."

What happened next caused our situation to go from bad to worse.

**Chief Fason POV**

Everyone within the D.I. room wore tense expressions and rigid body postures. We each studied the blinking dot on the screen that indicated the coordinates of the plane in relation to the line that was referred to as the "dead zone". The dead zone was the point in which we would be forced to take the plane down by force, and the point where not only would we lose innocent civilians, but also two of the finest agents on this force. The blinking icon was far too close to the line.

Less than a minute ago we received another communication from Agent McCarty. It read:

_Bomb has been located._

_Working on diffusing now._

_Believe J&V still on board._

_Working on door now._

The hands of the clock on the wall taunted us with the fact that our men only had 6 minutes left until time was up. Every second at this point was critical and each second gone with no word caused the mood within this room to be more grim.

They made some progress, but I feared it was too little too late. It was still crucial for them to get inside of the cockpit to regain control of the aircraft as well as send confirmation that the bomb is no longer a threat.

However, these were two of my best men and, if anyone could make it through this, they would be the ones to do it.

The ring of my phone brought me out of my thoughts. I pressed the send button and lifted the phone to my ear.

"Fason." I said gruffly into the phone.

General Wilson's voice answered mine. "You have 5 minutes. If we don't hear that they have control of the plane in 4 minutes, we'll be forced to shoot the plane down. My men are already in position."

"Sir, we just received communication from on board." I continued to fill him in on the latest message.

"That simply isn't enough. In 4 minutes we will have to take it down; there is no other choice. I'm sorry." With that he hung up the phone and I had our analyst Jordan respond that time would be up in 3 minutes.

**EmPOV**

"Bella!" Edward's voice screamed after the door opened and a shot was fired. I saw her fall to the floor, and for as much as I wanted to help the poor girl out, I knew that time was short and that I needed to take advantage of the opened door.

I withdrew the gun from the holster strapped to my ankle and threw my weight into the door before it closed. It opened further to reveal James pointing a gun in my general direction. Without hesitation, I opened fire.

I was quick and got off two shots before James was able to get off one.

I knew both shots hit James because he staggered backwards with the force of each bullet. One stuck his shoulder and the final one entered James' chest. He looked shocked that he was hit before he crumpled to the ground. The shot he fired grazed my side. Other than that fact that it hurt like hell, I was ok.

The arm holding the gun immediately pointed in the woman's direction. She looked down right menacing.

"You bitch!" she screeched. "You're going to pay for that." She lifted her arm and showed the remote detonator that she threatened us with earlier. Her thumb hovered over the trigger button.

_Please let Edward have finished with the bomb. _

Victoria's voice turned lethally cold. "If we don't make it off this flight then no one will." She moved her thumb closer to the trigger.

I would be damned if I let her get that far. I fired two shots to her head. Her thumb never met its mark.

With a sigh of relief I lowered my gun and turned around to survey how Bella was doing, she yelled out, "Emmett! Behind – "

I felt the bullet hit me in between my shoulder blades and lodge itself within my body. The pain crippled me until I fell forward onto my knees.

"Emmett!" This time it was Edward. My vision started to blur. Edward jumped up from where he was working and flew over to me. My upper body fell over sideways and lay completely on the ground.

I heard another shot go off over my head as I rapidly lost consciousness. I looked up and saw Edward leaning over me.

His voice thick with emotion, "Em, man, you will be ok. Just hold on for me okay, partner?"

With a raspy voice I didn't recognize, I managed to reply. "Phone… take the phone. Must… send… message." Each pause required a large effort to breathe.

Darkness nearly consumed me, but I could feel him take the phone out of my pocket. "Just hold on. I need you to stay with me." He begged.

But it was too late. I couldn't hold on any longer. I thought of holding my Rosie while she gazed lovingly into my eyes and wore the smile only designated for me. She was that last thing I thought about before the darkness overtook me.

**CFPOV**

There was less than a minute on the clock. No one uttered a single word while we all stared at the screen in front of us.

The general was on my line again but remained silent. Flight 2804 only had 20 seconds before they hit the dead zone.

My gazed continually shifted from the clock on the wall to the screen of doom directly below it.

"15 seconds, Fason." I could hear snapping on the other line and I assumed he most likely was signaling to his team to be ready at his command.

"Just give them another minute. They will make it. I know they will. Just one more minute!"

"10 seconds." At the same time the general spoke those words, a beep came through on my other line.

"Wait a minute I just got a message!" I whipped the phone away from my ear and read aloud so that the general and everyone in the room could hear the message.

_We are in control_

_Bomb diffused_

_Need medical!_

Cheers erupted through the room and I felt the weight of a ton lift from my shoulders. The elation only lasted for a second as I knew that whatever took place up there was bad especially if there was a specific request for medical help.

First things first , the plane needed to emergency land immediately.

I kicked into action giving orders out in quick succession.

**EPOV**

"Bella, are you sure that you're alright enough to do this?" I searched her eyes for any trace of a lie as she implored that she was well enough to help Emmett. It hadn't escaped my attention that she couldn't move her right arm a fraction of an inch without wincing in pain.

She let out an exasperated sigh before she answered me. "Yes, and please stop worrying. Go!"

She wasn't ok, and I knew it. She steadily lost blood and her face was paler than usual. But she was being stubborn and refused to not help. She looked down to Emmett. He was barely hanging on. His breaths were shallow. The bullet wounds in his side and back caused a lot of blood loss. Emmett was being taken care of by Bella, Nia and Cindy; the two other flight attendants. A fourth woman helped them who said that she was a retired nurse.

They made good use of the first aid kits, blankets and pillows on board. I hoped it would be enough to get him through until we landed.

With a final look at Bella, I turned and headed back into the cockpit. James and Victoria's bodies were slumped over the seats and control board. The co-pilot's body was splayed across the floor directly behind the seat angled peculiarly due to the opening of the cockpit door.

I stepped around the first assistant on the floor, and stopped once I was behind the captain's seat. I pulled James' body over so that it lay on top of Victoria's in the other seat. A hatred I had never experienced before pulsed through my veins as I was reminded of the fact that he had hurt _my _Bella. Never in my time on the force had I felt so scared or helpless on a flight or as justified and happy to have delivered the killing shot to someone.

Now that I sat in the captain's seat looking over all of the controls, I tried to get my bearings straight for landing. I switched off auto pilot and grabbed the steering unit, making sure to maintain current altitude.

I found and placed the radio headset on my head. The push of a couple buttons had me connected to air traffic control via the National Control Tower.

"This is US Air Marshal Edward Masen and I am in control of flight 2804. I need direction on where to land this flight."

"10-4. You are crossing over Maryland now and are all clear for emergency landing at Andrews Air Force Base."

I looked out of the windshield and couldn't see anything as we were in cloud bank.

"I need some coordinates. I have no visibility at the moment."

The voice on the other end responded, "Copy that. The coordinates you want to reach are as follows: 39.3° North, 116.8° East."

"What is my ETA?" If we arrived too soon, I would have to descend hurriedly, which might harm Emmett. If the base was too far away, that was time we couldn't afford to lose.

"You should start descending now, ETA is approximately 10 minutes."

That was fast, but doable. I pulled back on the gear that controlled the altitude to begin descent. When the plane's altitude was decreased, it caused the aircraft to accelerate naturally, so I had to apply breaks by shifting a second gear to reduce air speed.

The clouds started to break and the land below came into view. I guided the plane in the direction of the airport as we continued to descend.

"Ok, we're coming down now."

I flipped the switch for the seatbelt sign to light up in the cabin and went through the landing sequence I learned a few years back. For the first time, I felt a sense of gratitude for our mandated annual refreshers. It allowed us to retain rather than lose the skill.

"Are you guys okay back there?" I yelled out of the open door. From somewhere behind me came a couple of "yes's".

I lowered the landing gears and raised the flaps once I could see our tarmac. It was easy to identify because there were EMT's, fire trucks, police, FBI and SWAT cars surrounding the landing strip; their lights flashing.

We touched down on the ground a bit rougher than I intended. Shifting gears to brake faster, we eventually rolled to a stop. Immediately, I got the plane powered down and rushed out of the cockpit to check on everyone.

Cindy and Nia had already instructed passengers to open emergency exits and use the inflated slides on either side of the plane as they opened the front and back doors to allow medical help to come on board. Bella looked worse than when I'd left her a few minutes ago to tend to Emmett.

I kissed her forehead before whispering, "How is he?"

She looked up sadly. "He barely has a pulse, but we managed to slow the bleeding." She paused and then meekly added, "At least I think we did."

I looked over to the front door that was now open. A fire truck hoisted a lift up to the entrance and two EMT's stepped on board. They rushed over to us.

"Are there any more requiring medical attention?" One of them asked.

My head shook as I answered. "Not that I know of, I think everyone else is ok with the exception of three fatalities you'll find in there." I tilted my head in the direction of the cockpit.

The two men looked behind them nodding their heads in understanding. "We're going to get him out first; they already have someone coming for you, ma'am. Will you be ok for a second longer?"

Bella nodded and gave a feeble 'yes'. She struggled to stay standing, so I sat down in the nearest seat and sat her on my lap resting the side of her body on my chest. I was careful to avoid her wounded arm wrapped in a makeshift sling.

"They need to hurry. She's also lost a lot of blood." I barked at them.

I turned my attention back to Bella as they prepped Emmett for transport. Her eyes connect with mine. I cupped the side of her face. "I have never been as afraid as I was when I thought I might have lost you."

I kissed her forehead tenderly. "I love you, Isabella. I need you to get better for me, okay? I'll be with you every step of the way."

A small tear escaped her eye and trickled down her bloodied cheek. She smiled weakly. "I love you too, Edward."

The second set of emergency responders came on board and immediately tended to Bella getting her ready to move. They lifted her onto a stretcher and moved to exit the plane. As promised I was with her the entire way.

**AN**: The flight is FINALLY over! So what do ya think?? I'm dying to know. One chapter to go and then the story will be finished.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN:** Bet you didn't think you would see this update ever come. I cannot apologize enough for the delay. Thank you to those who have stuck with this story and encouraged me to complete it. This is for you. This chapter is un-beta'd. Please forgive any mistakes.

**Here is a (not so quick) recap since it has been so long:** _Edward (US Marshal) meets Bella (Flight Attendant) on a routine flight to Atlanta. They randomly see each other at a bar and leave to get better acquainted. They end the night on a steamy note and in the morning leave each other with promises to keep in touch when back home in Seattle. They date while back at home and begin falling in love, although neither will admit it. _

_Edward looks into a suspicious character he noticed on the flight to Atlanta and discovers that he is a wanted assassin. He reports this information to the chief and the information gets escalated to the FBI. Edward overhears the chief saying something disconcerting to an unknown person about him and does not know what to think. With the FBI and USAM working together, they discover that James and an unidentifed female companion are working for an underground terrorist group – The Volturi, who hold a grudge against the US and will likely try to hijack a plane and cause a national catastrophic event within the next 48 hours. _

_Meanwhile, Edward and Bella have dinner and drinks with all their friends for the first time the night before Edward and the boys have to leave for their assigned flights. Everyone has a great time, though there is a level of tension at the looming danger ahead. Edward and Bella share another passionate night together before he leaves in the morning assured that Bella is not scheduled to work over the next couple of days. _

_Edward and Emmett are paired to surveillance flight 2804. Edward notices Victoria and recognizes her from the pictures they have of James' companion. But do not see James. After the flight has backed away from the gate, Edward sees Bella who was asked last minute to work today. Bella immediately knows something is wrong after seeing Emmett and Edward on the same flight. She endeavors to help in any way she can and aids the inconspicuous communication between Edward and Emmett by passing messages. _

_Victoria (aware of the USAM on board) manages to place and hide two bombs in the rear of the cabin without anyone noticing. By the time that Edward realizes Victoria did not go back to her seat without the bags she left with, a small explosion goes off at the back of the plane. Bella and a fellow flight attendant put out the fire while Emmett and Edward follow Victoria up front. She threatens them with a remote bomb detonator for the larger bomb before knocking on the cockpit door to enter. _

_James who is posing at the pilot opens the door and lets her in, but before closing the door back notices Bella who walks up behind Edward. He remembers her from the first flight and quickly grabs and pulls her into the cockpit. After making an overhead announcement that he now has control of this plane and that everyone on board will die, he shoots Mike (the innocent co-pilot) and Edward thinks he shot Bella. _

_Edward and Emmett engage passengers to help search for the bomb while Edward works to find a way inside the cockpit. The bomb is located and Edward works to disarm it. Bella who fainted at the murder of Mike, comes back around by hearing James and Victoria argue. She lays still until an opportunity to escape arises and she bolts from the cockpit. James is able to shoot her in the shoulder before she exits and she falls to the ground._

_Emmett, who is closest to the cockpit barrels in and shoots James and then Victoria. However, James is not dead, so when Emmett turns his back James shoots him. Edward, just finishing disarming the bomb, rushes into the cockpit and kills James. Knowing that he only has a matter of seconds to announce his control of the plane and to safely land It before the government shoots down the entire flight, he has to fly the plane. The other flight attendants and a passenger who is a nurse tend to injured Emmett and Bella. They safely land at an air force base and get taken to a nearby hospital…_

**EPOV**

The Emergency Medical Technicians rushed Bella into the ER upon arriving at the hospital. The nurses immediately started prepping her to have a blood transfusion once the doctor heard the EMT's medical report. She had lost enough blood on the plane to make the doctor feel it was warranted. Bella was a trooper and stayed lucid enough to tell them her blood type was O positive and agree to the procedure.

My eyes remained glued to Bella as she began to get sleepy from the sedative they administered to her. She gazed into my eyes with a look of contentment and relief. I wanted to hold her hand, but the nurses moved continually around her and I would have only been in the way.

I gave her the crooked grin that she seemed to love and watched as her eyes brightened for a fraction of a second before she exhaled deeply. Then her eyes began to droop. Before slumber had a chance to claim her, I softly told her I loved her and would see her when she woke up.

I continued to watch over her sleeping form and felt an array of emotions pass through my body. Love was the strongest. I also felt joy that Bella returned those feelings, gratefulness that she made it off the pain alive, guilt that I couldn't protect her as I should have, pain at the memory of how I felt thinking she had died, anger at the bastards that did this to her. My last emotion was anxiety for Emmett.

Emmett had arrived shortly before Bella and I did. He had already been transferred immediately to ICU, forgoing the ER entirely. I knew enough about the ICU to know that I would not be able to go up to see Emmett any time soon and that his condition was considered critical.

My allegiance was split in two directions. On one hand I needed to be with brother. We might not be biologically related, but for as much as we've been through together, we might as well be. Under any other circumstance I would have done everything in my power to be by his side, but I couldn't do that in this situation; I had Bella here now and she needed me. I simply couldn't leave her. My guilt about Emmett didn't subside because of that however.

My stress levels were running high to say the least. Since making it off of the God forsaken flight, I had been hounded and pressed for answers from all directions. My superiors gave me orders to debrief as soon as the chief and the general showed up in a couple of hours. The doctors wanted to know how everyone's injuries had transpired. The air force base we landed on wanted to know what occurred in the air that called for an emergency landing and I knew that I would have to inform everyone back home of Emmett and Bella's conditions. I powered my phone on fully, only to reveal that I had 11 voicemails on top of the 8 texts that had been received while in transport to the base hospital.

I decided to start sifting through my text messages first, then voicemail so that I knew who to call first. However, before I could press the menu button on the phone to check the text messages the phone came to life, signaling that I had a new phone call coming in.

A couple of the nurses in Bella's room gave me a pointed look as if to remind me that we weren't permitted to use our cellular phones while in the hospital. My glare must have been enough to convince them to let it go.

I looked down at the screen as it reflected Emmett's name. This was Rosalie calling.

I glanced over at Bella, who was still asleep as I hit the send button and lifted the phone to my ear. "Hello."

"Edward! Oh thank God. I have been trying and trying to call Emmett and you. Your flight has been all over the news. Are you both ok?! The station said there were some fatalities…" Rosalie, who normally wore such a cool exterior, was near hysterics.

"Rose, please calm down. Emmett and I made it off alive." I hesitated; trying to make sure I worded my next sentence right. "Emmett is in pretty bad condition though. They have him in the ICU. I expected that they'd have contacted you as soon as he came in… which was about 30 minutes ago now." I added in hastily to assure her that it had not been an extremely long time.

Silence met me on the other line. Had it not been for the soft sound of wind in the background indicating she was driving, I would have thought the line was dead. I waited for her to gather her thoughts and didn't push her.

"Is… is he… do you think that he will make it?" Her voice merely a whimper.

I tried to give her reassurance, but I honestly didn't know how he would fair. He looked like he was barely hanging on when they removed him from the plane.

"You know Em better than any of us, he is the strongest person I know – physically and mentally. He will fight with all that he has to come back to you." No truer words could be spoken.

She finally replied after another moment, "Thanks, Edward. You're right. I'm at the airport now. Once I saw your flight on the TV, I booked the first flight I could to get out there. My plane leaves in an hour and a half. Can you… let me know if there are any new updates?"

I quickly gave my word that I would.

"I will wait to get the story of why Em is in critical condition until I get there. I don't think I can handle hearing it only to replay it in my mind repeatedly and not know if he is alright or not."

"Of course. I am in the ER with Bella. You can find me in her room once you get here. If I'm not here, then I am debriefing."

"Bella was on the flight too?" Surprise and sadness heavy in her voice.

I sighed before answering, "Yeah. Another story for when you get here. Please be safe Rosalie. Call me if you need anything and I promise to call you if I hear anything."

"Okay, Edward." She paused for a second before continuing, "… and thank you."

We were about to hang up when a thought came into my mind. "Hey, Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"You said that the story was all over the news? Have you talked to anyone else? Jasper and Alice or anyone?"

"Oh. Yes. I talked to Alice a while back to see if she heard of anything through Jasper. They didn't have any information and she said they both would be flying in tonight as well."

"Thanks, I suppose I need to check these messages. I will see you soon." We said our goodbyes and disconnected the line.

Bella would be asleep for a while, so I decided to see if I could get an update on Emmett's condition. Since this was a military base, there were officers all over the place. Especially with the emergency landing we made on its base.

I grabbed the attention of a young looking first lieutenant standing about 6 feet away from Bella's room. "Excuse me, might you be able to do me a favor?"

"I'll do my best, sir."

I offered him a small smile of gratitude before continuing on. "I would appreciate if you could arrange to have someone give me status updates on Agent Emmett McCarty's condition every half hour until his family arrives in a few hours?"

"Certainly. I will handle the updates myself. With what the two of you did to protect those innocent civilians up there, it is the very least I can do."

"Thank you so much First Lieutenant…"

"First Lieutenant Eric Yorkie at your service, sir." He stood a little straighter and saluted. He certainly was an eager guy.

With another small smile and incline of my head, I took a few retreating steps towards Bella's room. "I will be in here when you have an update."

He gave a curt nod in understanding and went off to gather whatever information he could. I pivoted and walked back into the room. I situated my chair next to her bed now that the doctor and nurses had vacated the space. I sat down and gently lifted her hand and caressed the back of her hand in slow circular motions. She looked pale and fragile still despite her having just received a blood transfusion. Her shoulder, now bullet free, cleaned and wrapped in gauze, looked swollen and stiff.

I managed to call my parents, Jasper and Jacob in the next hour to let them know that we were all right for the moment and share the status updates I was receiving on Emmett's condition. My parents took a while to sway, but ultimately I convinced them not to come. That I was perfectly fine and I would see them shortly after I made it back home to Seattle.

Jacob would be coming tomorrow with Angela to visit Bella. The panic that laced his voice at the beginning of our call had now turned into concern and gratitude. I was glad that Jacob was over-protective of Bella in Atlanta that first time we went out and made us exchange phone information. Otherwise I would have no way of contacting anyone for her right now.

"Thanks, Edward. I hadn't even realized that she was on that flight. When we spoke yesterday she told me she was planning to run some errands and catch up on some reading. Thank you for taking care of her."

My chest tightened at Jacob's words of thanks. He had no way of knowing the details of the flight or what happened since I was not able to say, but I knew that I failed at my job of protecting her and again it pained me to know how close I had come to a completely different outcome.

"Really, there is no need to thank me. I love Bella. I will do whatever I can to keep her safe from here on out."

After a brief lapse of silence he spoke. "Oddly enough, I believe you. Well, Ange and I will see you tomorrow morning. Thanks again. Oh, and please let her know that I am calling her parents to let them know she is alright."

"I will. Thanks Jacob. See you soon."

Having completed my last call for the moment, I signed and stared at Bella's sleeping form. At least I thought she was.

She groggily opened her eyes, blinking a few times to allow her eyes to adjust. "Hey you," she said with a lazy smile.

"Hey. How are you feeling there, love?"

"I've been better. But I'm alright. Was that Jacob?"

My eyes widened a bit in surprise. "Yes it was. Were you snooping on my conversations, miss?" I teased.

"Maybe… what did he say?"

"That he and Angela will be here tomorrow and that he is calling your parents."

Hey eyes got big and she started to struggle to sit up. "Oh! My parents. They will be so w-." I quickly halted her movements and gently prodded her with my free had to lay back down.

"Calm down, love. Jacob's got it covered." I squeezed her hand in reassurance.

After a couple of steadying breaths, she admitted my being right and relaxed back into her bed. Her eyes fluttered back closed and her breathing evened out. Hopefully she would be asleep for a while.

In the still of the moment, the exhaustion finally set in and I tipped my head back to rest it on the back of the chair. I wanted to rest my eyes for a bit and immerse myself in the quiet that had settled upon the room. The only sounds heard, being that of the constant beep of the EKG machine monitoring Bella's heart. However, as fate would have it, as soon as I closed my eyes the door slowly creaked open.

My once again opened eyes revealed two men fully clad in military garb stood archly in the doorway. One of the gentlemen was in a tan uniform with multiple metal decorations on his shoulders showcasing his rank. I immediately knew him to be the General. The other man dressed in a dark blue uniform; my chief.

Chief Fason was the first one to move from the doorway and he walked until he stood directly in front of where I still sat. I at once moved to stand up and as soon as I had he grabbed my left hand shaking it vigorously.

"How are you, son?" His concerned eye glanced over my tired face and body.

"I'm alright, Sir. I'm more worried about McCarty and Bella," I said tipping my head towards Bella's bed.

The chief shifted slightly to follow where I indicated and noted Bella's condition. When he returned to his original position he seemed slightly confused.

"She was on the flight?" I nodded my head in affirmation.

"She's someone important to you." This time it wasn't a question, but rather a statement of fact. I again nodded my head.

He was contemplative for a moment before he spoke again. "I think it's time that we debrief now. General are you ready?"

The second man who stood quietly in the doorway throughout the chief's and my verbal exchange, agreed and I stood to follow them out. With one last glance at Bella I turned and followed the men out the door. The faster we began this process the sooner I could make it back to Bella.

**BPOV**

Three days. It had been three long days that I had been stuck in this hospital bed. Despite that pain that my body was in, the grief of remembering what happened to Mike and the agony of not knowing what would happen with Emmett, these past few days with Edward had been surreal. Edward had been my rock, refusing to leave me for any great length of time, and doting on me even though my injuries weren't that serious. If I had questioned how he felt about me before, I now knew exactly what the depths of his feelings for me were. He loved me. He said as much on the plane but to physically see it in his eyes or in the way he treated me so tenderly, it was beyond surreal and it made my own love for him soar to every part of my body and soul.

Jake and Angela arrived the morning after Alice, Jasper and Rosalie. Jake and Ange were a constant source of entertainment and jokes and tried to keep my spirits up. At least after the initial breakdown that Ange had upon seeing me for the first time. I had never seen her so upset. It took me, Jake and Edward nearly 20 minutes to calm her down enough to talk. Once she and Jake were convinced I wouldn't be leaving this earth any time soon, we were all able to slip into an easy groove of talking and laughing that only the best of friends could achieve. That is until I fully remembered and accepted what happened on the plane.

It took approximately a full day for me to truly come to grips with the fact that I had seen someone murdered in front of my very eyes. Mike and I may not have been close, but he had always been very nice to me. He did not deserve the death that he had gotten. It killed me inside to know that he had died trying to protect me. It might not have been likely, but there was a chance (no matter how slim) that he might still be alive today if it weren't for me. After that realization set in, most of my day was spent in tears over Mike and Emmett. My grief only being assuaged by Edward, Jake, Ange, Alice, Jasper and Rosalie, who I came to look at as my friends and support group. I knew everyone was worried about me. The doctor suggested I talk with a psychiatrist about what I had been through. Although I would rather not re-live the events of that day with myself much less another person, I saw the importance of not letting all of my grief and guilt fester internally, so I agreed to see someone when I made it back home.

Emmett was still in the ICU ward and although he was showing signs of improvement, he wasn't doing as well as the doctors hoped he would by now. Rosalie seemed to be hanging in there, but on occasion she would break down in sobs. It was difficult seeing her, and knowing that Emmett's current condition was partially because of me. I know he was doing his job, but if it weren't for him trying to protect me from James and Victoria, this may have never happened. I would be getting out of here at the end of this day while Emmett had yet to even open his eyes. The thought alone caused my heart to constrict with sadness.

"What has you thinking so hard, Bells?" I turned my gaze from the blank spot on the wall to a concerned looking Jake.

I smiled sadly at my best friend. "I was just wishing Emmett was able to go home today too." To which he slowly nodded his head in response.

"It might not be today, Bells, but he will make it. Have some faith, kid."

"I know and I do. I just wish he would at least wake up."

Again, he nodded. "So what time did the doc say you could blow this joint? Edward already got the hotel room booked… although I still don't know how I feel about you two sharing a room."

I knew he was partially joking. He would always be a little over-protective of me. I just rolled my eyes at his antics. "I got the okay to leave in the next hour after all of my discharge papers are ready."

Edward and I would not be going back home to Seattle until we knew that Emmett was ok. He booked us a room at the same hotel the others were at. It wasn't my bed, but it was better than this hospital bed has been. Plus, I would be with Edward, and that topped any comfort a bed might provide me. I only hoped that being held by Edward at night might help to chase away the nightmares that I have been having.

I have been having problems sleeping these past couple of nights. I kept dreaming that I was back on that God forsaken flight and that James not only succeeded in killing Mike, but Edward and Emmett too, forcing me to watch. I woke up screaming and Edward would be there to help calm me down. He continually whispered in my ear that he was here and James wasn't going to be able to hurt me anymore until my heart rate slowed back down and I was able to drift back to sleep.

Jakes voice once again took me away from my thoughts. "Yeah, well, just be sure not to do anything to hurt that shoulder of yours any more than it already is… if you catch my drift." He wiggled his eye brows up and down as he said the last part.

I could feel the heat coming to my face. "Shut UP, Jake!" I said in a huff. I swear that man had issues. I doubted anything like that would happen any time soon.

"What's he done now?" Edward's smooth voice had a hint of amusement in it. He was walking into the room and must have overheard my reaction to Jake.

"Nothing." Jake and I said at the same time, although I grumbled my response where as Jakes was rather animated. Edward shot us both a quizzical look before shrugging his shoulders.

Edward walked over to the side of my bed directly in between Jake and me. He cupped my face in his palm and made sure he had my attention. He looked me directly in the eyes before starting, "Good news, baby."

"What is it?" I thought it might have something to do with my being released. But I was wrong.

"Emmett woke up." The smile on his face was radiant. I felt the tears slipping down my cheeks. We might all be alright after all.

AN: Sorry this was short. I actually had more written that transitioned into a natural epilogue, but decided to post it separately. It will be up within a couple of weeks. I wouldn't blame you if you don't believe me, but that is my plan.

Special thanks goes out to soccermom19 for sticking with me for so long. Truly, thank you from the bottom of my heart.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: **This chapter goes unbeta'd. Please forgive any mistakes.

Characters are not mine, they belong to Stephenie Meyer. But this plot is mine.

**EPILOGUE **

**EPOV – One to two months later**

"Edward, are you ready baby?"

I appraised myself in the bathroom mirror once more, straightening my tie for the final time. "Yep, let's do this."

With a final tug at the bottom of my suit jacket, I turned around and my eyes immediately landed on Bella. She was standing in from of my dresser putting in an earring, her back facing me. She looked absolutely delectable in a fitted navy blue dress that fell to her knees and had a low cut back.

Having finished up with her earrings, she turned around to face me. My breathing hitched. If I thought that the back of her dress was impressive, the front was even more so. She was stunning as always. We hadn't even left my apartment yet and already I was anxious for the evening to be over and for us to be back in my bed.

She was a minx and I think she must have known it based on the sly grin she wore. Bella slowly, not to mention sexily walked up to me and placed her hands on either side of my waist.

"I promise there will be plenty of time for that later. If we don't leave now, however, we'll be late."

With that, she chastely kissed my lips and stepped back to grab her purse off the bed. I growled lightly under my breath. She was right though. We were due to be at the Renaissance hotel downtown for a banquet being held in my and Emmett's honor. Being one of the guest of honor, it would be unacceptable to be late.

I grabbed my keys and wallet off the dresser and followed Bella out of the bedroom and shortly thereafter the apartment.

Once we settled into the car, we both fell into a companionable silence. My mind drifted to all of the events that occurred since being at the hospital in Maryland.

The past month had been a myriad of emotions and events. Some moments had been the worst of my life while others were some of the best. When Emmett finally woke up, I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted. He remained in intensive care for one more week after that because the bullet punctured his lung causing it to collapse. Emmett was required to continue using a breathing aid until the doctors felt his body was strong enough to do so on its own.

After being released from the ICU, Emmett remained in the hospital for another three weeks. Midway through those three weeks, he got the okay to be transferred to Seattle General Hospital. We all packed up and went back to Seattle, grateful to finally be back home. In the past couple of weeks, Emmett slowly returned back to normal. I don't think Rose had ever been happier to put up with his pre-pubescent jokes and commentary. Where she would normally smack him in the back of his head, she now rubbed his arm affectionately while smiling down at him. He got to the point where he was like a kid in a candy store, soaking up all of the attention he was getting.

That's not to say that he didn't have his serious moments. Emmett fully recognized how close he came to not making it. We had a discussion about it during one of his final days at the hospital. I had just come in from headquarters and talking with the Chief when I walked into Emmett's room to find him sitting up in his bed looking pensive.

"_Hey Em, what's going on? Where's Rose at?" It was rare for her not to be there with him. She had taken a leave of absence at her job in order to be with him. _

"_I convinced her to get out of here for a while and go to lunch with Alice and Bella. I think she was beginning to go a little stir crazy being stuck in this room with me day in and day out."_

_I hadn't talked to Bella since this morning when I left her apartment to go into the office, so I hadn't known of her plans. It warmed my heart to know that she had become as much a part of our little family as I had. _

"_Then what has you thinking so hard?"_

_Emmett reached his hand behind his head to scratch it a bit and shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I'm just thinking back over everything that happened up in the air. I have always been prepared that something like that could happen, but I have to wonder if it's all worth it in the end."_

_Not sure of exactly what he meant, I asked him to clarify for me._

"_I mean… is my job worth the pain that I would inflict upon Rosie if God forbid I didn't make it out alive one day? To see what these past few weeks have been like for her and to see the physical changes in her, I can't help but wonder." He looked truly torn._

"_No one but you can answer that question. If you gave it up, would you be happy? Could you work a safer 9 – 5 job and feel as fulfilled? And if you cannot, is giving up this job worth it to make Rose happy? The bigger question is, have you talked to her about all of this? This is a major decision you have to make and one that you should include her in."_

_The two of us talked about the pro's and con's of him staying or leaving for a bit longer before falling into companionable silence._

"_Hey, Em?" _

"_Yeah, what's up bro?"_

"_I never got a chance to thank you. None of us would have made it if it weren't for you." I felt a pang of in my heart at the thought that my Bella could have died that day and I would have been damned near powerless to prevent it. I think he could sense that by the look on his face. _

_I continued on, "You really had my back out there and kept me from losing my shit when I thought Bella…" I couldn't even say the words. _

"_I appreciate that, man. But I had your back like I knew you had mine. We're one hell of a team, huh bro?" He smirked at me, easily dissolving the tension of the serious moment. _

_I smirked back, "All-star baby!"_

_We both settled into easy convo after that and laughed at some of the good times we shared on the force together in the past._

The same day Emmett and I talked was the same day that the chief told me some unexpected news. He called me into his office and asked me to take a seat next to a man I had never met before. It turns out that the man in question was an officer of the federal aviation department. Apparently, he and Chief Fason met shortly after all of the information on James' scheme came to light. The chief was impressed with my ability to begin the investigation based on such minor details on a routine flight.

They agreed to watch to see how the investigation would play out and how the situation would be resolved before signing off on my being promoted. The Chief had been adamant that I not be made aware of the promotion talks in case it fell through for any reason. But, they were both now in full agreement that I should be promoted to Captain should I want it. I of course jumped on the opportunity.

Tonight's banquet was also in part to celebrate my new promotion as well as Emmett's retirement from the force. He and Rose decided last week that he should retire for safety and health reasons. His injuries would have the potential to impact his ability to respond as he once was able to. They also decided they wanted to start their family and as much as I hated to lose my brother on the force, I couldn't begrudge him this. I understood his decision. I knew that I would still see him outside of the force and that helped to soften the blow of his retirement.

"You okay?" Bella's gentle voice brought me out of my thought induced haze.

I gave her a quick crooked smile and told her I was.

She took the hand that was resting on the gear shift and threaded her fingers through mine. "Is this bitter-sweet for you? You know, with Em leaving and your moving into a new position and everything?"

"It's not that it's bitter-sweet per say, but it is strange to think that in a few days I will no longer be working with Jasper and Emmett. It's been us for a while now and while I know that nothing stays the same, nor would I want it to," I shot her a quick glance as I pulled the car up to the valet. "I just can't help but to want them both around as much as they have been in the past to bounce things off of, you know?"

She squeezed my hand before releasing it. "I know."

As we both exited the car, I couldn't help but think that was one of the things that I loved about Bella. She was a great listener. I've come to discover that over the past couple of months. She listens and doesn't always have to try to offer suggestions and encouraging words. More often than not, she will let me talk it out and just be there as support.

We walked hand in hand through the lobby of the hotel toward our designated banquet hall. I was stopped repeatedly from city officials, a few members of the press, and some of my fellow team-mates on the force, shaking hands and receiving congratulations.

We made it into the hall and to say I was impressed by the decorations and the amount of people who turned out would be an understatement. It was a large hall and it was decorated eloquently with gold accents on the tables and podium.

The hand shaking and small talk commenced as Bella and I worked the room. After half an hour passed, we were able to make it to our table and joined the Mayor of Seattle and his wife, Chief Fason and his wife, Em and Rose, and finally Jasper and Alice.

"Edward! You finally got a chance to break away from the crowd and join us." The Chief said with a smile.

Laughing, I responded back, "It only took an hour it seems."

"Bella!" Emmett's boisterous greeting took my attention. "Looking mighty fine if I do say so myself. You aren't trying to impress Eddie here are you? You know you've got him eating out of the palm of your hand already. " He wiggled his eyebrows up and down in a suggestive manner.

The table laughed, including Bella. I merely growled at his antics before chuckling. I kissed the side of her neck, "She sure does."

Bella blushed lightly causing me to give her a cocky smile.

She slapped my chest with her clutch purse and rolled her eyes. "Thank you Em, I just have to keep him on his toes is all. Isn't that right ladies?" Bella addressed all the women at the table.

They all gave their affirmations. We all settled into light, sociable chatter at the table waiting for the night to begin.

Dinner was served shortly thereafter. We had the average banquet meal of chicken, green beans and scalloped potatoes. The dinner hall fell into silence as the Mayor stood at the podium. He addressed the crowd, thanking everyone for their attendance and stating the reasons that we were all gathered here tonight.

Afterward, the Mayor came to shake Emmett's and my hand and took his seat again to allow the Chief to take the stage.

"Welcome everyone. As you are well aware, we are here this evening in recognition and celebration of Agent Masen and Agent McCarty for the courage and heroism they displayed on board flight 2804 last month. Their efforts and unwillingness to give up in the face of incredible obstacles saved 54 lives that day…"

Chief Fason went on to tell everyone about our dedication and how we were both huge assets to the department and how proud he was of us. We were then each presented with a plaque and a medal for our action on board the flight. We were received with a standing ovation.

The most memorable part of the evening, however, were the thanks and testimonies given from a couple of passengers who had been on the flight that day. Bella gripped my hand tightly under the table throughout each addresses. At one point, I looked around the table and noticed nearly everyone had tears in their eyes. When a tribute to Michael Newton's life was given, I soothingly rubbed circles in Bella's shoulders while she silently cried and laid her head on my shoulder. She still had not openly talked about what happened in that cockpit. I could only hope that she was able to work through some of her grief through the therapy sessions she was attending weekly.

After the tribute, a few words were said about Emmett's leaving the force and my being promoted to Captain, to which we both received another round of applause.

Finally, the evening came to a close and after hugging our closest friends good bye, Bella and I were able to slip away. It felt great to be recognized, but at the end of the day we had be doing our job and abiding by the oath that we USAM's live by to protect all innocent passengers on board a flight. I certainly have no regrets about that day in that regard.

Once we made it back to my place, we immediately headed for the bedroom. I think we both felt spent from the emotional aspects of the evening and wanted the comfort of each other's arms to sooth the stress away.

We quickly and quietly changed out of our clothing into more bed appropriate attire and slipped under the covers.

I wrapped my arms around Bella spooning her back with the front of my body. I kissed the back of her shoulder and asked if she were alright.

"I'm fine, Edward. I only want to feel your arms around me. Be in this moment of contentment and love. Tonight made me relive portions of that day and I am so thankful that we are both here together, right now."

She turned in my arms so that she was facing me. "I love you, Edward. So damned much."

I pressed my lips to hers. "I love you too. More with each passing day."

We continued to kiss each other sweetly for what seemed like hours, but were likely closer to minutes. I kissed down her neck and her collar bone. She shifted her body so that I was lying on top of her. I kept my weight off of her as I propped up on my elbows.

Slowly, our clothes were removed and I settled myself between her thighs. We made slow, passionate love. Every ounce of love and desire I held for her, for us was given to her body.

"I love you." Was repeatedly shared between us.

Our hands caressed each other's skin.

Our lips were kissing and tasting each other in any areas accessible in our position.

As her body started to tense in preparation for release, I saw a solitary tear slip from the corner of her eye. I knew it wasn't out of pain, but rather the intense feelings she was experiencing.

"I love you. I love you. I love you." I continued to whisper in her ear.

That drove her over the edge and as she climaxed I felt myself follow right behind her.

She held onto me for several minutes afterward, not letting me move. My body weight pressing down on hers.

I stared at her. Her eyes closed and a small beautiful smile on her face. She finally opened her eyes and released her hold on me so that I could turn our bodies so that she lay on me.

We continued to gaze at each other for a moment more before she said, "You have all of me and always will. I love you more than words can say. Thank you for loving and protecting me, Edward."

Her sentiments made my heart grow. She was it for me as well. I know that we may have started our relationship fast, but the pull I have toward her was undeniable. She meant more to me than anything in this world, and if she let me I would spend my life showing her.

I kissed the tip of her nose. "Sleep now, baby. I will be right here when you wake up. For now and always." That was an oath I never planned to break.

THE END

**AN:** It's over. *tear* I have thoroughly enjoyed writing this story and hope that you enjoyed reading it. Thank you so much to everyone who R&R'd. You have all touched my heart. Thank you to those of you who helped me with ideas and edits. This story is so much more because of you. *Limona, Delsig, Muffn'Butter, MsWendyHill* Thank you!!!


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